ST8SIA1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus: In contrast to Siglec-7, the sialyl-transferase responsible for α2,8 linkage formation, St8Sia1 showed a tendency for up-regulation in the islets from patients with T2D (Fig. 2G), suggestive of a compensatory mechanism and in confirmation of a very recent study which shows St8Sia1 protein upregulation in T2D islets33.