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FUT4

Fucosyltransferase 4 (FUT4), also known as myeloid-type α1 or 3FUT, is an enzyme which in humans is encoded by the FUT4 gene. This enzyme transfers fucose to N-acetyllactosamine polysaccharides to form fucosylated carbohydrate structures. It catalyzes the synthesis of the non-sialylated antigen, Lewis x. FUT4 is widely expressed in a number of tissues and not only in leukocytes. And in former studies, researchers could not find any human tissues in which FUT4 is absent. However, a variety of the tissues do not necessarily express the CD15 antigen.
In general, overexpression of the FUT4 gene by its transfection leads to the expression of CD15 on the cell surface, however, FUT7 transfection causes the expression of CD15s but not CD15. Thus, FUT4 was considered to be the enzyme solely responsible for the expression of CD15 in leukocytes before the finding of FUT9 in those cells. The CD15 epitope is expressed in several tissues, including certain neurons, epithelial cells of intestinal tissues, as well as glial cells in the central nervous system. Furthermore, in human leukocytes, CD15 is expressed preferentially in mature neutrophils, monocytes, and all myeloid cells from the promyelocyte stage onwards, allowing it a powerful cell surface marker.
Gene ID: 2526
UniProt ID: P22083