Abstract
Naturally occurring polymers of N-acetylneuraminic acid (polysialic acids) are biodegradable, highly hydrophilic and have no known receptors in the body. Following intravenous injection, polysialic acids exhibit long half-lives in the blood circulation and have therefore been proposed as carriers of short-lived drugs and small peptides. In addition, shorter-chain polysialic acids can be used as a means to increase the circulatory half-life of proteins and thus serve as an alternative to the nonbiodegradable monomethoxypoly(ethylene glycol). Recent work has shown that covalent coupling of a low molecular weight polysialic acid (colominic acid) to catalase and asparaginase leads to a considerable increase of enzyme stability in the presence of proteolytic enzymes or blood plasma. Comparative studies in vivo with polysialylated and intact asparaginase revealed that polysialylation significantly increases the half-life of the enzyme. The highly hydrophilic and innocuous nature of polysialic acids renders them suitable as a means to prolong the circulation of peptides and proteins.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1964-1969 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences |
Volume | 57 |
Issue number | 13-14 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2000 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Asparaginase
- Catalase
- Colominic acid
- Polysialic acids