1 Chemistry and Analysis of Sialic Acid.- I. Historical Background.- II. Natural Occurrence of Sialic Acids.- III. Isolation and Purification.- IV. Chemistry of Sialic Acids.- A. Basic Structures.- B. Stereochemistry.- C. Chemical Reactions and Derivatives.- V. Synthesis.- VI. Quantification of Sialic Acids.- A. Colorimetric and Fluorometric Assays.- B. Enzymatic Assay.- C. Gas-Liquid Chromatography.- VII. References.- 2 The Natural Occurrence of Sialic Acids.- I. Introduction.- II. The Natural Occurrence of Sialic Acids.- A. Viruses.- B. Bacteria.- C. Plants.- D. Invertebrates.- E. Primitive Chordates.- F. Vertebrates.- III. Evolution of Sialic Acids.- IV. References.- 3 The Distribution of Sialic Acids Within the Eukaryotic Cell.- I. Introduction.- II. Extracellular Sialic Acids.- III. Distribution within the Cell.- A. The Plasma Membrane.- B. Endoplasmic Reticulum.- C. Mitochondria.- D. Nuclei.- E. Other Fractions.- IV. Conclusions.- V. References.- 4 Anabolic Reactions Involving Sialic Acids.- I. Introduction: Perspective and Directions.- II. Biosynthesis of the Sialic Acids.- A. Glucose to Sialic Acid.- B. Activation.- C. Regulatory Problems.- D. Other Derivatizations.- III. Biosynthesis of Polymers, Glycoproteins, Mucins, and Glycolipids Containing Sialic Acid.- A. Colominic Acid Synthesis.- B. CMP-Sialic Acid: Lactose (?-Galactosyl) Sialyltransferase.- C. CMP-Sialic Acid: Glycoprotein (?-Galactosyl) Sialyltransferases.- D. CMP-Sialic Acid: Mucin (?-N-Acetylgalactosaminyl) Sialyltransferase.- E. CMP-Sialic Acid: Ganglioside (Glycolipid) Sialyltransferases.- IV. Thoughts on Physiological Function of Sialic Acids.- V. References.- 5 Catabolism of Sialyl Compounds in Nature.- I. Introduction.- II. Pathways of Degradation.- A. Degradation of Gangliosides.- B. Degradation of Glycoproteins.- III. Cellular Mechanism of Degradation.- A. Lysosomes.- B. Uptake and Disposition of Substrates.- IV. Functional Implications.- V. Concluding Remarks.- VI. References.- 6 Disorders of Ganglioside Catabolism.- I. Introduction—The Catabolism of Gangliosides.- II. Tay-Sachs Disease (Type I GM2-Gangliosidosis).- A. Clinical Aspects.- B. Pathology.- C. Chemistry of the Storage Material.- D. Nature of the Metabolic Defect.- E. Enzymology of Type I GM2-Gangliosidosis.- F. Prenatal Diagnosis and Treatment.- III. Type II GM2-Gangliosidosis.- A. Clinical and Pathological Aspects.- B. Chemistry of the Storage Material.- C. Metabolic Defect—Diagnosis and Treatment.- IV. Other Variant Forms.- A. Type III GM2-Gangliosidosis.- B. Hexosaminidase-A-Deficient Adults.- V. Generalized Gangliosidosis (GM1-Gangliosidosis).- A. Clinical Aspects.- B. Pathology.- C. Chemistry of the Stored Material.- D. Metabolic Defect.- VI. Potentially Related Disorders.- A. Hematoside (GM3)-Gangliosidosis.- B. Animal Model Gangliosidoses.- C. In Vitro Model Studies.- VII. References.- 7 The Biological Role of Sialic Acid at the Surface of the Cell.- I. Introduction.- II. Occurrence, Forms, and Amounts of Sialic Acid Residues at the Surface of the Cell.- III. The Masking of Cell-Surface Antigens by Sialic Acid.- IV. Sialic Acid as a Receptor at Cell Surfaces.- A. Receptor for Lectins.- B. Receptor for Viruses.- C. Receptor for Mycoplasma.- D. Receptor for Hormones.- E. Receptor for Antibodies.- F. Receptor for Circulating Glycoproteins.- G. Receptor for Tetanus Toxin.- V. Sialic Acid in Normal and Malignant or Transformed Cells.- VI. Role of Sialic Acid in Cell-to-Cell Interaction.- A. Cellular Adhesion.- B. Intercellular Aggregation.- C. Agglutination.- VII. Physiological Role of Sialic Acid Residues.- A. Transport of Ions, Amino Acids, and Proteins.- B. Phagocytosis.- C. Anaphylactic Shock, Hypercapnia, and Brain Excitability.- D. Lymphocyte Stimulation.- E. Sperm Capacitation.- VIII. Conclusion.- IX. References.- 8 The Altered Metabolism of Sialic-Acid-Containing Compounds in Tumorigenic-Virus-Transformed Cells.- I. Introduction.- II. Experimental Procedures.- A. Cells and Cell Culture.- B. Isolation, Identification, and Quantification of Gangliosides.- C. Assay of Enzymes Involved in Glycolipid Metabolism.- III. Ganglioside Metabolism in Cultured Mouse Cell Lines.- A. Distribution of Gangliosides in Normal and Virally Transformed Cells.- B. Enzymatic Studies.- C. Effect of Growth and Culture Conditions on Ganglioside Metabolism.- D. Sialic-Acid-Containing Glycolipids in Transformed Cells Obtained from Other Species.- VI. Sialic Acid and Glycoproteins in Transformed Cells.- A. Sialic Acid and Sialyltransferase Activity in Transformed Cells.- B. Membrane Glycoproteins.- C. Glycopeptides of Transformed Cells.- D. Role of Sialic Acid and Sialyltransferase.- E. Comments.- V. Relationship between Viral Transformation and Altered Ganglioside Metabolism.- A. Productive Infection of Mouse Cells.- B. Ganglioside Metabolism in Flat Revertant Cell Lines.- C. Specificity of the Altered Ganglioside Metabolism.- D. Generality of the Phenomenon.- E. Transformation of Mouse Cells by RNA Tumor Viruses and Other Agents.- VI. Discussion.- A. Molecular Basis of Altered Ganglioside Metabolism.- B. Significance.- VII. Concluding Remarks.- VIII. References.- 9 Circulating Sialyl Compounds.- I. Introduction.- II. Normal Plasma Constituents.- A. Circulating Sialoenzymes.- B. Serum Sialoglobulins.- C. Sialoglycoprotein Hormones.- III. Circulating Sialoglycoproteins in Abnormal Physiological States.- A. Diabetes.- B. Inflammatory Reactions.- C. Infectious Psychoses.- D. The Effect of Steroid Hormones.- E. Liver Disease.- F. Virus Inhibition of Hemagglutination.- G. Cancer.- H. Diet.- IV. Role of Sialic Acid in Circulating Sialoglycocompounds.- V. References.- 10 Sialidases.- I. Background and Nomenclature.- II. Bacterial Sialidases.- A. Occurrence of Microbial Sialidases.- B. Organismic Characterization and Induction of Bacterial Sialidases.- C. Purification of Bacterial Sialidases.- D. Size and Properties of Bacterial Sialidases.- E. Mode of Action of Bacterial Sialidases.- F. Biological Roles for Bacterial Sialidases.- III. Viral Sialidases.- A. Morphology and Genetics of Viral Sialidases.- B. Purification of Viral Sialidases.- C. Size of Viral Sialidases.- D. Properties of Viral Sialidases.- E. Possible Biological Roles for Viral Sialidases.- IV. Experimental Use of Microbial Sialidases.- V. Mammalian Sialidases.- A. Organ Distribution of Mammalian Sialidases.- B. Subcellular Distribution of Mammalian Sialidases.- C. Purification of Mammalian Sialidases.- D. Assay of Mammalian Sialidases.- E. Physical Properties of Mammalian Sialidases.- F. Developmental Studies of Mammalian Sialidases.- G. Possible Biological Roles of Mammalian Sialidases.- H. Sialidase Activity in Cells in Tissue Culture.- VI. References.