The bifunctional enzyme UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase/N-acetylmannosamine kinase (GNE/Mnk), or GLCNE, regulates and initiates biosynthesis of N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc), a precursor of sialic acids. GLCNE is required for normal sialylation in hematopoietic cells. Sialylation is implicated in cell adhesion, signal transduction, tumorigenicity and metastatic behavior of malignant cells. It is upregulated after PKC-dependent phosphorylation and is most abundantly expressed in liver ａ