UDP-GlcNAc 2-Epimerase: A Regulator of Cell Surface Sialylation
Oliver T. Keppler,
1*
Stephan Hinderlich,
3*
Josmar Langner,
1
Reinhard Schwartz-Albiez,
2
Werner Reutter,
3
Michael Pawlita
1
Modification of cell surface molecules with sialic acid is crucial
for their function in many biological processes, including cell
adhesion and signal transduction. Uridine
diphosphate-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase (UDP-GlcNAc
2-epimerase) is an enzyme that catalyzes an early, rate-limiting step
in the sialic acid biosynthetic pathway. UDP-GlcNAc 2-epimerase was
found to be a major determinant of cell surface sialylation in human
hematopoietic cell lines and a critical regulator of the function of
specific cell surface adhesion molecules.
1 Applied Tumor Virology Program,
2 Tumor Immunology Program, Deutsches
Krebsforschungszentrum, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, D-69120 Heidelberg,
Germany.
3 Institut für Molekularbiologie und
Biochemie, Freie Universität Berlin, Arnimallee 22, D-14195
Berlin-Dahlem, Germany.
*
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Present address: Gladstone Institute of Virology and
Immunology, Post Office Box 419100, San Francisco, CA 94141-9100, USA.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
M.Pawlita{at}dkfz-heidelberg.de
