Carbohydrate (N-acetylglucosamine-6-O) sulfotransferase 2 (CHST2)

Abstract

The CHST2 gene encodes N-acetylglucosamine-6-O-sulfotransferase (GlcNAc6ST)-1. GlcNAc6ST-1 catalyzes the transfer of a sulfate group from the substrate 3′-phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphosulfate (PAPS) to an N-acetylglucosamine residue located at the nonreducing end of glycans (Uchimura et al. 1998). GlcNAc6ST-1 has the configuration of type II transmembrane proteins. The enzyme is localized to the Golgi. GlcNAc6ST-1 is a member of the GlcNAc6ST family in that five isozymes of GlcNAc6STs have been identified in humans, four of which have murine orthologs (Uchimura and Rosen 2006). GlcNAc6ST-1 mRNA of human and mouse is expressed in a variety of tissues including brain, eye, lung, pancreas, and lymph nodes. GlcNAc6ST-1 elaborates sialyl 6-sulfo Lewis X (6-sulfo sLex), which is a major L-selectin ligand expressed in high endothelial venules (HEV) of lymph nodes, and regulates lymphocyte homing (Uchimura et al. 2004, 2005; Kawashima et al. 2005). GlcNAc6ST-1 is also an enzyme that synthesizes keratan sulfate (KS) glycosaminoglycan in the central nervous system and regulates axonal regeneration after injury (Zhang et al. 2006; Ito et al. 2010).