Galactosylgalactosylxylosylprotein 3-beta-glucuronosyltransferase 2 is an
enzyme
Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products ...
that in humans is encoded by the ''B3GAT2''
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...
.
The product of this gene is a transmembrane protein belonging to the glucuronyltransferase family, and catalyzes the transfer of a beta-1,3 linked glucuronic acid to a terminal galactose in different glycoproteins or glycolipids containing a Gal-beta-1-4GlcNAc or Gal-beta-1-3GlcNAc residue. The encoded protein is involved in the synthesis of the human natural killer-1 (HNK-1) carbohydrate epitope, a sulfated trisaccharide implicated in cellular migration and adhesion in the nervous system.
Use of HNK-1 Antibody for Neural Crest Research
Antibodies raised against the HNK-1 epitope have played a large role in studies of the
neural crest
Neural crest cells are a temporary group of cells unique to vertebrates that arise from the embryonic ectoderm germ layer, and in turn give rise to a diverse cell lineage—including melanocytes, craniofacial cartilage and bone, smooth muscle, per ...
, especially in the avian embryo. The first antibody raised against this epitope was NC-1,
which permitted much easier analyses of neural crest migration pathways. In avians, and especially in other vertebrates, the results of HNK-1 staining should be interpreted with caution as the epitope is not unique to the neural crest.
References
External links
*
PDBe-KBprovides an overview of all the structure information available in the PDB for Human Galactosylgalactosylxylosylprotein 3-beta-glucuronosyltransferase 2 (B3GAT2)
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{gene-6-stub