Humans are not able to catalyse the formation of N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) due to an inactive CMAHP enzyme. Neu5Gc can be obtained from dietary sources and must be degraded to avoid accummulation and resultant chronic inflammation known as xenosialitis (Varki et al. 2011). In the Neu5Gc degradation pathway, the putative N-acetylglucosamine-6-phosphate deacetylase (AMDHD2) is thought to irreversibly hydrolyse N-glycolylglucosamine 6-phosphate (GlcNGc-6-P), resulting in the ubiquitous metabolites glycolate (CCA) and glucosamine 6-phosphate (GlcN6P) (Bergfeld et al. 2012).