Polysialic acid

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ONC-016170",
  "term": "Polysialic acid",
  "field": "Oncology and biomedicine",
  "definition": "A highly negative-charged carbohydrate composed of a linear polymer of alpha 2,8-linked sialic acid residue with potential immunotherapeutic activity. Polysialic acid (PSA) is mainly attached to the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), a membrane-bound glycoprotein overexpressed in certain types of cancers. In embryonic tissue PSA-NCAM is abundantly expressed and PSA plays an important role in formation and remodeling of the neural system through modulation of the adhesive properties of NCAM, thereby reducing cell-cell interactions and promoting cellular mobility. In adult tissue however, the expression of PSA-NCAM is associated with a variety of malignant tumors, signifying its potential role in tumor metastasis. When administered in a vaccine formulation, PSA may stimulate a cytotoxic T cell response against tumors expressing PSA, thereby resulting in a reduction in tumor size.",
  "synonyms": [
    "PolySA"
  ],
  "references": [
    "National Cancer Institute Thesaurus"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/oncology/polysialic-acid/"
}