Please register to continue your trial period!
meRfi Microbiome provides you with up-to-date, evidence-based insights on the gut microbiota and related health topics.
Access our ever-expanding digital library and get personalized answers through our interactive AI chat platform.
Start your free trial and transform your understanding of the gut microbiota today!
Sialic acids are a diverse family of monosaccharides widely expressed on all cell surfaces of vertebrates and so-called "higher" invertebrates, and on certain bacteria that interact with vertebrates. This overview surveys examples of biological roles of sialic acids in immunity, with emphasis on an evolutionary perspective. Given the breadth of the subject, the treatment of individual topics is brief. Subjects discussed include biophysical effects regulation of factor H; modulation of leukocyte trafficking via selectins; Siglecs in immune cell activation; sialic acids as ligands for microbes; impact of microbial and endogenous sialidases on immune cell responses; pathogen molecular mimicry of host sialic acids; Siglec recognition of sialylated pathogens; bacteriophage recog…