N-acetylneuraminate epimerase explained

N-acetylneuraminate epimerase
Ec Number:	5.1.3.24

N-acetylneuraminate epimerase (sialic acid epimerase, N-acetylneuraminate mutarotase, sialic acid mutarotase, YjhT, NanM) is an enzyme with systematic name N-acetyl-alpha-neuraminate 2-epimerase.^[1] This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction

N-acetyl-alpha-neuraminate

\rightleftharpoons N-acetyl-beta-neuraminate

Sialoglycoconjugates present in vertebrates are linked exclusively by alpha-linkages.

See also

• sialic acid
  • N-acetylneuraminate
• Mutarotation

Notes and References

1. Severi E, Müller A, Potts JR, Leech A, Williamson D, Wilson KS, Thomas GH . Sialic acid mutarotation is catalyzed by the Escherichia coli beta-propeller protein YjhT . The Journal of Biological Chemistry . 283 . 8 . 4841–9 . February 2008 . 18063573 . 10.1074/jbc.M707822200 . free .