Alpha-N-acetylneuraminide alpha-2,8-sialyltransferase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ST8SIA1 gene. Gangliosides are membrane-bound glycosphingolipids containing sialic acid. Ganglioside GD3 is known to be important for cell adhesion and growth of cultured malignant cells. The protein encoded by this gene is a type II membrane protein that catalyzes the transfer of sialic acid from CMP-sialic acid to GM3 to produce gangliosides GD3 and GT3. The encoded protein may be found in the Golgi apparatus and is a member of glycosyltransferase family 29. [provided by RefSeq]. Sequence Note: This RefSeq record was created from transcript and genomic sequence data because no single transcript was available for the full length of the gene. The extent of this transcript is supported by transcript alignments. Publication Note: This RefSeq record includes a subset of the publications that are available for this gene. Please see the Gene record to access additional publications.
Involved in the production of gangliosides GD3 and GT3 from GM3; gangliosides are a subfamily of complex glycosphinglolipds that contain one or more residues of sialic acid.