B3GALT5 Antibody

Background:

This gene is a member of thebeta-1,3-galactosyltransferase (beta3GalT) gene family. This familyencodes type II membrane-bound glycoproteins with diverse enzymaticfunctions using different donor substrates (UDP-galactose andUDP-N-acetylglucosamine) and different acceptor sugars(N-acetylglucosamine, galactose, N-acetylgalactosamine). Thebeta3GalT genes are distantly related to the Drosophila Brainiacgene and have the protein coding sequence contained in a singleexon. The beta3GalT proteins also contain conserved sequences notfound in the beta4GalT or alpha3GalT proteins. The carbohydratechains synthesized by these enzymes are designated as type 1,whereas beta4GalT enzymes synthesize type 2 carbohydrate chains.The ratio of type 1:type 2 chains changes during embryogenesis. Bysequence similarity, the beta3GalT genes fall into at least twogroups: beta3GalT4 and 4 other beta3GalT genes (beta3GalT1-3,beta3GalT5). This gene encodes the most probable candidate forsynthesis of the type 1 Lewis antigens which are frequently foundto be elevated in gastrointestinal and pancreatic cancers. Theencoded protein is inactive with N-linked glycoproteins andfunctions in mucin glycosylation. Five transcript variants havebeen described which differ in the 5' UTR. All transcript variantsencode an identical protein.