Cloning and functional expression of a novel glucuronyltransferase involved in the biosynthesis of the carbohydrate epitope HNK-1.

ABSTRACT: The HNK-1 carbohydrate epitope is characteristically expressed on a series of cell adhesion molecules and also on some glycolipids in the nervous system over a wide range of species from insect to mammal. The HNK-1 epitope is involved in cell-cell and/or cell-substrate interaction and recognition during the development of the nervous system. In this study, we isolated a novel glucuronyltransferase from rat brain, which is a key enzyme of the biosynthesis of the HNK-1 epitope on glycoproteins. Based on the partial amino acid sequences, we isolated cDNA encoding the glucuronyltransferase. The primary structure deduced from the cDNA sequence predicted a type II transmembrane protein with 347 amino acids and had no detectable similarity with any other proteins of known functions, including glu

SUBMITTER: Terayama K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC21007 | biostudies-literature | 1997 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature