Description
N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) is generated by hydroxylation of CMP-Neu5Ac to CMP-Neu5Gc, catalyzed by CMP-Neu5Ac hydroxylase (CMAH). However, humans lack this common mammalian cell surface molecule, Neu5Gc, due to inactivation of the CMAH gene during evolution. CMAH is one of several human-specific genes whose function has been lost by disruption or deletion of the coding frame. It has been suggested that CMAH inactivation has resulted in biochemical or physiological characteristics that have resulted in human-specific diseases. To identify differential gene expression profiles associated with the loss of Neu5Gc expression, we performed microarray analysis using Illumina MouseRef-8 v2 Expression BeadChip, using the main tissues (liver, lung, kidney, and heart) from a control mouse and a Cmah-null mouse.