The manifold roles of sialic acid for the biological functions of endothelial glycoproteins.

Vascular endothelia are covered with a dense glycocalix that is heavily sialylated. Sialylation of vascular glycoconjugates is involved in the regulation of cell-cell interactions, be it among endothelial cells at cell junctions or between endothelial and blood-borne cells. It also plays important roles in modulating the binding of soluble ligands and the signaling by vascular receptors. Here, we provide an overview over the sialylation-function relationships of glycoproteins expressed in the blood and lymphatic vasculature. We first describe cellular interactions in which sialic acid contributes in a stereospecific manner to glycan epitopes recognized by glycan-binding proteins. Our major focus is however on the rarely discussed examples of vascular glycoproteins whose biological functions are modulated by sialylation through other mechanisms.