Heparan Sulfate-3-O-Sulfotransferase 4 (HS3ST4)

HS3ST4 encodes the enzyme heparan sulfate D-glucosaminyl 3-O-sulfotransferase 4. This enzyme generates 3-O-sulfated glucosaminyl residues in heparan sulfate. Cell surface heparan sulfate is used as a receptor by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), and expression of this gene is thought to play a role in HSV-1 pathogenesis.

Heparan sulfate biosynthetic enzymes are key components in generating a myriad of distinct heparan sulfate fine structures that carry out multiple biologic activities. The heparan sulfate D-glucosaminyl 3-O-sulfotransferases (3OSTs) place the rare 3-O-sulfate group in various sequence contexts. The partial 3OST4 cDNA contained the coding region for the enzyme's C-terminal sulfotransferase domain. Northern blot analysis revealed that the 3.4-kb 3OST4 mRNA was expressed specifically in brain.