Cell surface sialic acid-containing glycans (Sialoglycans)

Cell surface sialic acid-containing glycans, commonly known as sialoglycans, are terminal carbohydrate structures found on the glycocalyx of all mammalian cells. These nine-carbon acidic sugars are essential for maintaining the negative charge of the cell surface and mediating a wide array of biological processes, including cell-cell adhesion, molecular trafficking, and immune system regulation (Varki, A., Nature, 2007). In many pathological states, particularly cancer, cells undergo hypersialylation, where an overabundance of terminal sialic acids creates a "glycan shield" that protects the tumor from immune surveillance by engaging inhibitory Siglec receptors on immune cells (Pearce, O. M., & Läubli, H., Cancer Research, 2016). Additionally, sialoglycans serve as critical entry receptors for various pathogens, such as the influenza virus and certain strains of Streptococcus (Skehel, J. J., & Wiley, D. C., Annual Review of Biochemistry, 2000). Therapeutic approaches targeting these molecules include neuraminidase inhibitors that block viral egress and novel sialidase-based biologics designed to strip sialic acids from tumor surfaces to re-engage the host's immune response (Gray, M. A., et al., Nature Chemical Biology, 2020).

Other names

Sialylated glycansSialic acid-containing glycoconjugatesSialoglycoconjugatesTerminal sialic acidsSia-glycans

Inhibition of viral neuraminidase enzymes to prevent the cleavage of sialic acid and subsequent release of viral progeny (e.g., oseltamivir); enzymatic removal of terminal sialic acids from the cell surface using sialidase-based biologics to disrupt the Sialic Acid-Siglec immune checkpoint (e.g., E-602); and competitive inhibition of pathogen binding to host sialoglycans (Varki, A., Glycobiology, 2017; Palleon Pharmaceuticals, 2023).