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Health & Science9h 37m ago
A chance discovery at Nagoya University in Japan has shown that the brain enzyme ST8Sia5L builds a sugar chain on itself, becomes secreted from the cell and deactivates, then switches on outside the cell once the chain is removed.
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Nagoya, Japan
Who
Nagoya University, Fumiya Sakamoto, Chihiro Sato, Ken Kitajima
What
A chance discovery at Nagoya University in Japan has shown that the brain enzyme ST8Sia5L builds a sugar chain on itself, becomes secreted from the cell and deactivates, then switches on outside the cell once the chain is removed.
When
Fri, 19 Jun 2026 01:40:01 GMT · 9h 37m ago
Where
Nagoya, Japan ·
Why
The finding overturns a decades-old assumption about how polysialic acid, a sugar chain critical for brain development and function, is produced and shows a new way an enzyme can regulate its own activity.
The Frontline Impact
How this affects you
This discovery redefines understanding of polysialic acid production and enzyme regulation, suggesting a novel extracellular modification pathway and potential implications for brain repair mechanisms and neurological conditions like schizophrenia.
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