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Health & Science7h 50m 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.
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 · 7h 50m 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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