Sialic acid sulfation is induced by the antibiotic treatment in mammalian cells

ABSTRACT

Sialic acids (Sias) are an outermost-situated sugar of glycoproteins and glycolipids to play important roles in various biological phenomena. They are often modified by additional substituents, such as O-acetyl group, to display more than 50 different structures in nature. Of those modified Sia, nothing is known about the occurrence and biological functions of sulfated Sias (SiaSs) in mammals. To elucidate the significance of sialic acid sulfation, we investigated various mammalian-cultured cell lines for the expression of SiaS using the specific antibody 3G9. First, SiaS is expressed in a cell line-dependent and a cell density-dependent manner. Second, in CHO cells, the expression of SiaS is reversibly induced by treatment with the antibiotic G418. Taken together, the expression of SiaS is changed by intrinsic and extrinsic factors in mammalian cells. This is the first demonstration of regulated expression of SiaS.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Reversible induction of the surface sulfation of sialic acid residues by the antibiotic G418 in mammalian cells.

KEYWORDS:

• Sialic acid
• sulfated sialic acid
• antibiotic G418
• inducible sulfation
• mammal

Author contributions

NE performed all the experiments and collect the data. NE, CS, and KK designed and discussed the results. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was in part supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) [19K05812; to KK]; Kobayashi Foundation 7th Research Grant [to KK].