Abstract
Polysialic acid (polySia/PSA) is an anionic glycan polymer of sialic acid, and it mostly modifies the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) in mammalian brains. Quality and quantity of the polySia of the polySia–NCAM is spatio-temporally regulated in normal brain development and functions, and their impairments are reported to be related to diseases, such as psychiatric disorders and cancers. Therefore, precise understanding of the state of polySia–NCAM structure would lead to the diagnosis of diseases for which their suitable evaluation methods are necessary. In this study, to develop these evaluation methods, structures of polySia–NCAM from mouse brains at six different developmental stages were analyzed by several conventional and newly developed methods. Integrated results of these experiments clearly demonstrated the existence of different types of polySia–NCAMs in developing brains. In addition, combinational analyses were shown to be useful for precise understanding of the quantity and quality of polySia, which can provide criteria for the diagnosis of diseases.
Highlights
Polysialic acid is a linear polymer of sialic acid (Sia) with a degree of polymerization (DP) of 8–400 Sia residues [1]
To determine the protein contents, we calculated the protein concentration and found that the values were almost the same among all tested individuals, the adult brains were slightly richer in protein than embryonic and postnatal brains (Figure 1B)
We found that the concentration of Sia increased according to the developmental stage, and in retired mice, the concInet.nJ.tMraolt
Summary
Polysialic acid (polySia/PSA) is a linear polymer of sialic acid (Sia) with a degree of polymerization (DP) of 8–400 Sia residues [1]. The presence of CD36 in milk [9], Neuropillin-2 (NRP2) [10], and CCR7 [11] are known to contain polySia in other tissues than the brain. NCAM was firstly demonstrated to be polysialylated [12], and using microglia cell line and THP-1 macrophage cells, the presences of polySia in E-selectin-ligand 1 and NRP2 were reported [13]. The expression of polySia has been demonstrated to continue, especially in the olfactory system and hippocampus, where neurogenesis is ongoing, even in adult brains [16,17]. The presence of polySia-expressing cells in the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and hypothalamus have been demonstrated [18,19], the precise function in each area in the adult brain has not yet been well-studied
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