Large regional and strain differences in rat brain sialic acid and 2-deoxyribose.

Sialic acid, a very polar component of glycolipids and glycoproteins that is exposed on membrane surfaces, was observed in rat brain to vary in the descending order: forebrain, midbrain, cerebellum and medulla. Levels of 2-deoxyribose were also differentially distributed, with about 3.5 times as much in the cerebellum and nearly equal amounts elsewhere. Similar results were obtained with another genetic strain, but clear quantitative differences were evident for both chemicals.