CHST8 - Carbohydrate Sulfotransferase 8

The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the sulfotransferase 2 family. It is predominantly expressed in the pituitary gland, and is localized to the golgi membrane. This protein catalyzes the transfer of sulfate to position 4 of non-reducing N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) residues in both N-glycans and O-glycans. It is responsible for sulfation of GalNAc on luteinizing hormone (LH), which is required for production of the sex hormones. Mice lacking this enzyme, exhibit increased levels of circulating LH, and precocious sexual maturation of both male and female mice. Alternatively spliced transcript variants have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2011]