N-Acetylgalactosamine Explained

N-Acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc), is an amino sugar derivative of galactose.

Function

In humans it is the terminal carbohydrate forming the antigen of blood group A.^[1]

It is typically the first monosaccharide that connects serine or threonine in particular forms of protein O-glycosylation.

N-Acetylgalactosamine is necessary for intercellular communication, and is concentrated in sensory nerve structures of both humans and animals.

GalNAc is also used as a targeting ligand in investigational antisense oligonucleotides and siRNA therapies targeted to the liver, where it binds to the asialoglycoprotein receptors on hepatocytes. ^[2]

See also

• Galactosamine
• Globoside
• (N-Acetylglucosamine) GlcNAc

Notes and References

1. Immunochemical Studies on Blood Groups. XXXI. Destruction of Blood Group A Activity by an Enzyme from Clostridium tertium Which Deacetylates N-Acetylgalactosamine in Intact Blood Group Substances . Donald M. Marcus . Elvin A. Kabat . Gerald Schiffman . Biochemistry . 1964 . 3 . 3 . 437–443 . 10.1021/bi00891a023 .
2. 10.1021/ja505986a. 25434769. Multivalent N-Acetylgalactosamine-Conjugated siRNA Localizes in Hepatocytes and Elicits Robust RNAi-Mediated Gene Silencing. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 136. 49. 16958–16961. 2014. Nair. Jayaprakash K. Willoughby. Jennifer L. S. Chan. Amy. Charisse. Klaus. Alam. Md. Rowshon. Wang. Qianfan. Hoekstra. Menno. Kandasamy. Pachamuthu. Kel'In. Alexander V. Milstein. Stuart. Taneja. Nate. o'Shea. Jonathan. Shaikh. Sarfraz. Zhang. Ligang. Van Der Sluis. Ronald J. Jung. Michael E. Akinc. Akin. Hutabarat. Renta. Kuchimanchi. Satya. Fitzgerald. Kevin. Zimmermann. Tracy. Van Berkel. Theo J. C. Maier. Martin A. Rajeev. Kallanthottathil G. Manoharan. Muthiah.