gne (gene) gne (gene) bifunctional udp-n-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase/n-acetylmannosamine kinase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the gne gene. gneavailable structurespdbortholog search: pdbe rcsb list of pdb id codes2yhw, 2yhy, 2yi1, 3eo3, 4zhtidentifiersaliasesgne, dmrv, glcne, ibm2, nm, uae1, glucosamine (udp-n-acetyl)-2-epimerase/n-acetylmannosamine kinaseexternal idsomim: 603824 mgi: 1354951 homologene: 3996 genecards: gne gene location (human)chr.chromosome 9 (human)band9p13.3start36,214,441 bpend36,277,042 bpgene location (mouse)chr.chromosome 4 (mouse)band4|4 b1start44,034,075 bpend44,084,177 bprna expression patternbgeehumanmouse (ortholog)top expressed inrectumlivertracheapalpebral conjunctivaislet of langerhansright lobe of liverplacentarenal medullabronchial epithelial cellamniotic fluidtop expressed insubmandibular glandleft colonlacrimal glandparotid glandleft lobe of liverpaneth cellduodenumconjunctival fornixcrypt of lieberkuhn of small intestineinternal carotid arterymore reference expression databiogpsmore reference expression datagene ontologymolecular function nucleotide binding protein binding hydrolase activity, hydrolyzing o-glycosyl compounds kinase activity atp binding catalytic activity transferase activity n-acylmannosamine kinase activity hydrolase activity metal ion binding udp-n-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase activity cellular component cytoplasm cytosol biological process phosphorylation cell adhesion n-acetylneuraminate metabolic process metabolism udp-n-acetylglucosamine metabolic process n-acetylglucosamine biosynthetic process carbohydrate phosphorylation sources:amigo / quickgoorthologsspecieshumanmouseentrez1002050798ensemblensg00000159921ensmusg00000028479uniprotq9y223q91wg8refseq (mrna)nm_001128227nm_001190383nm_001190384nm_001190388nm_005476nm_001374797nm_001374798nm_001190414nm_015828nm_001357539refseq (protein)np_001121699np_001177312np_001177313np_001177317np_005467np_001361726np_001361727np_001177343np_056643np_001344468location (ucsc)chr 9: 36.21 – 36.28 mbchr 4: 44.03 – 44.08 mbpubmed searchwikidataview/edit humanview/edit mouse the bifunctional enzyme, udp-n-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase (udp-glcnac 2-epimerase/n-acetylmannosamine kinase) regulates and initiates biosynthesis of n-acetylneuraminic acid (neuac), a precursor of sialic acids. udp-glcnac 2-epimerase activity is rate-limiting for the biosynthesis of sialic acid and is required for sialylation in hematopoietic cells. the activity of the enzyme can be controlled at the transcriptional level and can affect the sialylation and function of specific cell surface molecules expressed on b cells and myeloid cells. modification of cell surface molecules with sialic acid is crucial for their function in many biologic processes, including cell adhesion and signal transduction. differential sialylation of cell surface molecules is also implicated in the tumorigenicity and metastatic behavior of malignant cells. sialuria is a rare inborn error of metabolism characterized by cytoplasmic accumulation and increased urinary excretion of free neuac.