Laboratorio de Glicobiología Humana y Diagnóstico Molecular, Centro de Investigación en Dinámica Celular, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Front Immunol. 2022 Feb 11;12:823637. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.823637. eCollection 2021.
Polysialic acid (polySia) is a highly regulated polymer of sialic acid (Sia) with such potent biophysical characteristics that when expressed drastically influences the interaction properties of cells. Although much of what is known of polySia in mammals has been elucidated from the study of its role in the central nervous system (CNS), polySia is also expressed in other tissues, including the immune system where it presents dynamic changes during differentiation, maturation, and activation of different types of immune cells of the innate and adaptive response, being involved in key regulatory mechanisms. At least six polySia protein carriers (CCR7, ESL-1, NCAM, NRP2, ST8Sia 2, and ST8Sia 4) are expressed in different types of immune cells, but there is still much to be explored in regard not only to the regulatory mechanisms that determine their expression and the structure of polySia chains but also to the identification of the - and - ligands of polySia that establish signaling networks. This review summarizes the current knowledge on polySia in the immune system, addressing its biosynthesis, its tools for identification and structural characterization, and its functional roles and therapeutic implications.
聚唾液酸（polySia）是一种高度调控的唾液酸（Sia）聚合物，具有很强的生物物理特性，当大量表达时会极大地影响细胞的相互作用特性。尽管人们对哺乳动物中聚唾液酸的了解很大程度上是通过研究其在中枢神经系统（CNS）中的作用而阐明的，但聚唾液酸也在其他组织中表达，包括免疫系统，在免疫系统中，它在先天和适应性免疫反应的不同类型免疫细胞的分化、成熟和激活过程中呈现动态变化，参与关键的调节机制。至少有六种聚唾液酸蛋白载体（CCR7、ESL-1、NCAM、NRP2、ST8Sia2 和 ST8Sia4）在不同类型的免疫细胞中表达，但仍有许多方面需要探索，不仅要探索决定其表达和聚唾液酸链结构的调节机制，还要探索聚唾液酸的配体和配体的鉴定，以建立信号网络。这篇综述总结了聚唾液酸在免疫系统中的最新知识，包括其生物合成、鉴定和结构特征的工具，以及其功能作用和治疗意义。
