n-acetyl-d-mannosamine

Description: N-Acetyl-D-mannosamine (also known as ManNAc) is the direct precursor of all physiological sialic acids. Intraperitoneal injection of ManNAc twice daily at 1, 000 mg/kg in C57BL/6 mice for 13 days leads to increased sialylation in kidney, liver, blood cells, brain, spinal cord, muscle, heart, lung, and spleen. ManNAc reverses hyposialylation and improves glomerular integrity in GneM712T/M712T mice whose key enzyme for sialic acid production has been deleted and may prove therapeutic in the treatment of HIBM. Sialic acids, commonly present as terminal carbohydrates on glycoconjugates, are essential for a variety of cellular functions including cell adhesion and signal recognition as well as the formation and progression of tumors. Disruption of sialic acid biosynthesis can result in severe glomerular proteinuria or neuromuscular disorders such as hereditary inclusion body myopathy (HIBM).

References: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 99(8), 5267-5270 (2002); Journal of Clinical Investigation 117(6), 1585-1594 (2007); Biochemica et Biophysica Acta 1770, 297-306 (2007).