FUT4
Encyclopedia
Fucosyltransferase 4 also known as FUT4 is an enzyme
which in humans is encoded by the FUT4 gene
.
to N-acetyllactosamine polysaccharide
s to generate fucosylated carbohydrate structures. It catalyzes the synthesis of the non-sialylated antigen, Lewis x (CD15
).
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...
which in humans is encoded by the FUT4 gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
.
Function
The product of this gene transfers fucoseFucose
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, and is the fundamental sub-unit of the fucoidan polysaccharide...
to N-acetyllactosamine polysaccharide
Polysaccharide
Polysaccharides are long carbohydrate molecules, of repeated monomer units joined together by glycosidic bonds. They range in structure from linear to highly branched. Polysaccharides are often quite heterogeneous, containing slight modifications of the repeating unit. Depending on the structure,...
s to generate fucosylated carbohydrate structures. It catalyzes the synthesis of the non-sialylated antigen, Lewis x (CD15
CD15
CD15 is a cluster of differentiation antigen - an immunologically significant molecule. CD15 is a carbohydrate adhesion molecule that can be expressed on glycoproteins, glycolipids and proteoglycans.- Function :...
).