Structural Insight Into Mammalian Sialyltransferases.

Sialic acid is the most abundant terminal monosaccharide on mammalian cell surface glycoconjugates. The crystal structures of a mammalian sialyltransferase, that of porcine ST3Gal-I, in the apo form and bound to analogues of the donor and acceptor substrate are now described, providing insights into the catalytic mechanism and for inhibitor design.