The presence of N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), a non-human sialic acid in cancer patients, is currently attributed to the consumption of red meat. Excess dietary red meat has been considered a risk factor causing chronic inflammation and for the development of cancers. However, it remains unknown whether Neu5Gc can be generated via a chemical reaction rather than via a metabolic pathway in the presence of high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) found in the inflammatory and tumor environments. In this study, the conversion of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) to Neu5Gc has been assessed in vitro under conditions mimicking the hydroxyl radical-rich humoral environment found in inflammatory and cancerous tissues. As a result, Neu5Gc has been detected via liquid chromatography-multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry. Furthermore, this conversion has also been found to take place in serum biomatrix containing ROS and in cancer cell cultures with induced ROS production.

N-乙醇酰神经氨酸（Neu5Gc）是癌症患者体内的一种非人类唾液酸，目前归因于食用红肉。过量饮食红肉被认为是导致慢性炎症和癌症发展的危险因素。然而，在炎症和肿瘤环境中存在高水平活性氧 (ROS) 的情况下，Neu5Gc 是否可以通过化学反应而不是通过代谢途径生成仍不清楚。在这项研究中，在模拟炎症和癌组织中富含羟自由基的体液环境的条件下，在体外评估了N-乙酰神经氨酸 (Neu5Ac) 向 Neu5Gc的转化。结果，通过液相色谱-多重反应监测质谱法检测到了Neu5Gc。此外，还发现这种转化发生在含有 ROS 的血清生物基质中以及诱导 ROS 产生的癌细胞培养物中。