A fucosyltransferase 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. A ...
that transfers an L-
fucose
Fucose is a hexose deoxy sugar with the chemical formula C6H12O5. It is found on ''N''-linked glycans on the mammalian, insect and plant cell surface. Fucose is the fundamental sub-unit of the seaweed polysaccharide fucoidan. The α(1→3) link ...
sugar from a GDP-fucose (
guanosine diphosphate
Guanosine diphosphate, abbreviated GDP, is a nucleoside diphosphate. It is an ester of pyrophosphoric acid with the nucleoside guanosine. GDP consists of a pyrophosphate group, a pentose sugar ribose, and the nucleobase guanine.
GDP is the product ...
-fucose) donor substrate to an acceptor substrate. The acceptor substrate can be another sugar such as the transfer of a fucose to a core GlcNAc (
N-acetylglucosamine
''N''-Acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) is an amide derivative of the monosaccharide glucose. It is a secondary amide between glucosamine and acetic acid. It is significant in several biological systems.
It is part of a biopolymer in the bacterial ...
) sugar as in the case of
N-linked glycosylation
''N''-linked glycosylation, is the attachment of an oligosaccharide, a carbohydrate consisting of several sugar molecules, sometimes also referred to as glycan, to a nitrogen atom (the amide nitrogen of an asparagine (Asn) residue of a protein), ...
, or to a protein, as in the case of ''O''-linked glycosylation produced by
''O''-fucosyltransferase. There are various fucosyltransferases in mammals, the vast majority of which, are located in the
Golgi apparatus
The Golgi apparatus (), also known as the Golgi complex, Golgi body, or simply the Golgi, is an organelle found in most eukaryotic cells. Part of the endomembrane system in the cytoplasm, it packages proteins into membrane-bound vesicles ins ...
. The ''O''-fucosyltransferases have recently been shown to localize to the
endoplasmic reticulum
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is, in essence, the transportation system of the eukaryotic cell, and has many other important functions such as protein folding. It is a type of organelle made up of two subunits – rough endoplasmic reticulum ( ...
(ER).
Some of the proteins in this group are responsible for the molecular basis of the
blood group antigen
A blood type (also known as a blood group) is a classification of blood, based on the presence and absence of antibodies and inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrate ...
s, surface markers on the outside of the red blood cell membrane. Most of these markers are proteins, but some are carbohydrates attached to lipids or proteins
eid M.E., Lomas-Francis C. The Blood Group Antigen FactsBook Academic Press, London / San Diego, (1997) Galactoside 3(4)-L-fucosyltransferase () belongs to the
Lewis blood group system and is associated with Le(a/b) antigen.
Classification
Glycosyltransferase family 1
CAZY GT_10comprises enzymes with two known activities; galactoside 3(4)-L-fucosyltransferase () and galactoside 3-fucosyltransferase (). The galactoside 3-fucosyltransferases display similarities with the alpha-2 and alpha-6-fucosyltranferases.
The biosynthesis of the carbohydrate antigen sialyl Lewis X (sLe(x)) is dependent on the activity of an galactoside 3-fucosyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the transfer of fucose from GDP-beta-fucose to the 3-OH of N-acetylglucosamine present in lactosamine acceptors.
Role in preventing UTIs
Robust fucosyltransferase activity discourages bacterial adherence in the
urethra
The urethra (from Greek οὐρήθρα – ''ourḗthrā'') is a tube that connects the urinary bladder to the urinary meatus for the removal of urine from the body of both females and males. In human females and other primates, the urethra con ...
of women.
This is also mediated by the presence of few bacterial adhesion sites in the bladder and urethra. Women with these receptors who do not have mucosal secretion of the fucosyltransferase enzyme to help block bacterial adherence are more likely to have colonization of ''E. coli'' and other coliforms from the rectum and less likely to have
lactobacilli
The ''Lactobacillaceae'' are a family of lactic acid bacteria. It is the only family in the lactic acid bacteria which includes homofermentative and heterofermentative organisms; in the ''Lactobacillaceae,'' the pathway used for hexose fermentati ...
in the periurethral area, resulting in frequent episodes of
cystitis
A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that affects part of the urinary tract. When it affects the lower urinary tract it is known as a bladder infection (cystitis) and when it affects the upper urinary tract it is known as a kidney ...
.
Human proteins containing this domain
FUT1
Galactoside 2-alpha-L-fucosyltransferase 1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FUT1'' gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ...
;
FUT2
Galactoside 2-alpha-L-fucosyltransferase 2 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FUT2'' gene. It affects the secretor status of ABO antigens.
Approximately 20% of Caucasians are non-secretors due to the G428A (rs601338) and C571T (rs4 ...
;
FUT3
Galactoside 3(4)-L-fucosyltransferase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FUT3'' gene.
Function
The Lewis histo-blood group system comprises a set of fucosylated glycosphingolipids that are synthesized by exocrine epithelial cells ...
;
FUT4
Fucosyltransferase 4 (alpha (1,3) fucosyltransferase, myeloid-specific), also known as FUT4, is an enzyme which in humans is encoded by the ''FUT4'' gene.
Function
The product of this gene transfers fucose to N-acetyllactosamine polysaccharide ...
;
FUT5
Alpha-(1,3)-fucosyltransferase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FUT5'' gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation ...
;
FUT6
Alpha-(1,3)-fucosyltransferase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FUT6'' gene.
The alpha-1,3-fucosyltransferases constitute a large family of glycosyltransferases with a high degree of homology. The enzymes of this family comprise 3 ...
;
FUT7
Alpha-(1,3)-fucosyltransferase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FUT7'' gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation ...
;
FUT8
Alpha-(1,6)-fucosyltransferase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FUT8'' gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation ...
;
FUT9
Alpha-(1,3)-fucosyltransferase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FUT9'' gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation ...
;
FUT10
Galactoside 2-alpha-L-fucosyltransferase 1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FUT1'' gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ...
;
FUT11;
See also
*
fucosylation
Fucosylation is the process of adding fucose sugar units to a molecule. It is a type of glycosylation.
It is important clinically, and high levels of fucosylation have been reported in cancer. In cancer and inflammation there are significant chan ...
References
External links
*
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Transferases
EC 2.4.1