title: Expression of chondroitin/dermatan sulfate glycosyltransferases during early zebrafish development.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chondroitin/dermatan sulfate (CS/DS) proteoglycans present in the extracellular matrix have important structural and regulatory functions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six human genes have previously been shown to catalyze CS/DS polymerization. Here we show that one of these genes, chpf, is represented by two copies in the zebrafish genome, chpfa and chpfb, while the other five human CS/DS glycosyltransferases csgalnact1, csgalnact2, chpf2, chsy1, and chsy3 all have single zebrafish orthologues. The putative zebrafish CS/DS glycosyltransferases are spatially and temporally expressed. Interestingly, overlapping expression of multiple glycosyltransferases coincides with high CS/DS deposition. Finally, whereas the relative levels of the related polysaccharide HS reach steady-state at around 2 days post fertilization, there is a continued relative increase of the CS amounts per larvae during the first 6 days of development, matching the increased cartilage formation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are 7 CS/DS glycosyltransferases in zebrafish, which, based on homology, can be divided into the CSGALNACT, CHSY, and CHPF families. The overlap between intense CS/DS production and the expression of multiple CS/DS glycosyltransferases suggests that efficient CS/DS biosynthesis requires a combination of several glycosyltransferases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Filipek-Górniok
authors.forename: Katarina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Holmborn
authors.forename: Tatjana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Haitina
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Habicher
authors.forename: Marta Bastos
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hellgren
authors.forename: Inger
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kjellén
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kreuger
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ledin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002807:Chondroitin; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates / Q000378:metabolism*; D003871:Dermatan Sulfate / Q000378:metabolism*; D016695:Glycosyltransferases / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D015027:Zebrafish; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; D003871:Dermatan Sulfate; D002807:Chondroitin; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates; D016695:Glycosyltransferases
keywords: CHPF; CHSY; CSGALNACT; chondroitin sulfate; polymerase; zebrafish