Cloning and expression of an alpha-2,8-polysialyltransferase (STX) from Xenopus laevis

Polysialic acid (polySia) is a carbohydrate structure found on neural cell adhesion molecules (N-CAM). Two polysialyltransferases (polySiaTs) that catalyze synthesis of polySia have been described, and designated PST-1/PST/ST8SiaIV and STX/ST8SiaII. We cloned a polySiaT (xSTX) from a nonmammalian vertebrate, Xenopus laevis . xSTX had 80% amino acid similarity to the rat STX. This clone induced polySia expression when transfected into polySia-negative COS-1 cells. Northern blot analysis of whole embryos at different stages of development revealed that xSTX mRNA was most abundantly expressed in premetamorphic stages. The relative level of xSTX and N-CAM mRNAs was also examined and found to change in parallel to the extent of polysialylation on N-CAM. In adult tissues, the expression of xSTX mRNA was restricted to brain, eye and heart, which also expressed polySia. These results suggest that xSTX is the major enzyme responsible for the synthesis of polysialylated N-CAM in embryos at certain stages of development and also in adult tissues.