Hane Masaya, Naramura Ayane, Hayakawa Kaito, Abe Chikara, Nakagawa Takahiro, Kushima Itaru, Furukawa Soma, Fukami Yuki, Ikegami Keisuke, Saigoh Kazumasa, Kusunoki Susumu, Katsuno Masahisa, Ozaki Norio, Kitajima Ken, Sato Chihiro
Integrated Glyco-Biomedical Research Center (iGMED), Institute for Glyco-core Research (iGCORE), Nagoya University, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan.
Department of Applied Biosciences, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2025 May 30;15(1):19033. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-02583-x.
Polysialic acid (polySia), a glycoepitope critical for neural development and plasticity, remains difficult to quantify owing to its structural complexity. Here, we present a highly sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) utilizing novel probes to measure polySia expression. Using this method, we quantified polySia levels in mouse brain samples across various developmental and aging stages. Notable age-related changes were observed, particularly in neuroplastic regions such as the hippocampus and olfactory bulb, where polySia levels increased at 12 months, potentially reflecting resilience mechanisms against brain aging. Elevated polySia levels in blood samples were also detected in both a schizophrenia mouse model and human patients, with a notable male preponderance. In contrast, no significant changes were observed in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. These findings, enabled by the novel probes, highlight a potential role for polySia in brain aging and neuropsychiatric disorders, offering new insights into developmental and disease mechanisms and supporting its utility as a diagnostic biomarker for brain impairments.
聚唾液酸（polySia）是一种对神经发育和可塑性至关重要的糖表位，由于其结构复杂，仍然难以定量。在此，我们提出一种利用新型探针测量polySia表达的高度灵敏的夹心酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）。使用这种方法，我们对处于不同发育和衰老阶段的小鼠脑样本中的polySia水平进行了定量。观察到了明显的与年龄相关的变化，特别是在海马体和嗅球等神经可塑性区域，其中polySia水平在12个月时升高，这可能反映了对抗脑衰老的弹性机制。在精神分裂症小鼠模型和人类患者的血液样本中也检测到了升高的polySia水平，且男性占比显著。相比之下，慢性炎症性脱髓鞘性多发性神经病患者未观察到显著变化。这些由新型探针促成的发现，突出了polySia在脑衰老和神经精神疾病中的潜在作用，为发育和疾病机制提供了新见解，并支持其作为脑损伤诊断生物标志物的效用。
