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Polysialic acid is an unusual posttranslational modification that occurs on neural cell adhesion molecules (NCAM). Polysialic acid is considerably anionic. This strong negative charge gives this modification the ability to change the proteins surface charge and binding ability. In the synapse, polysialation of NCAM prevents its ability to bind to NCAM's on the adjacent membrane.^[1]

[edit] References

1. ^ Dityatev, Alexander and Alaa El-Husseini, ed (2006). "ch 6". Molecular Mechanisms of Synaptogenesis. New York, NY: Springer. 

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