Sequences of the mouse N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V (Mgat5) mRNA and an mRNA expressed by an Mgat5-deficient cell line

Abstract

N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V, encoded by the Mgat5 gene, plays an important regulatory role in the synthesis of complex N-glycans, including the Lewis antigens. The elevated expression of this enzyme is regulated during development and is highly associated with cellular transformation and malignancy. In addition, mammary tumors produced in Mgat5 gene knockout mice show markedly reduced metastases, indicating that it plays an important role in this process. The expression of this transferase is important for normal T cell proliferation and function. The amino acid and mRNA sequences for this protein are very highly conserved among the reported species. We report here the sequence of the mouse Mgat5 mRNA. This sequence is very similar to the other mammalian sequences with 95%, 91%, and 87.8% overall sequence identity to rat, hamster, and human mRNAs, respectively. In addition, we have identified a 63-bp insertion mutation, introducing a premature stop codon in the coding region of the Mgat5 mRNA expressed in a N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V-deficient cell line, PhaR2.1.