Cloning, expression and chromosomal mapping of human lysosomal sialidase and characterization of mutations in sialidosis

Sialidase (neuraminidase, EC 3.2.1.18) catalyses the hydrolysis of terminal sialic acid residues of glyconjugates. Sialidase has been well studied in viruses and bacteria where it destroys the sialic acid-containing receptors at the surface of host cells1–3, and mobilizes bacterial nutrients4. In mammals, three types of sialidases, lysosomal, plasma membrane and cytosolic, have been described5,7. For lysosomal sialidase in humans, the primary …