HomeAboutRankingsData Sources
© 2026 GeneE
🧬
GeneE
10 sources retrieved · Most recent: April 2026 · Index updated 15 days ago
ⓘGeneE is for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
HS3ST4
heparan sulfate-glucosamine 3-sulfotransferase 4
Chromosome 16 · 16p12.1
NCBI Gene: 9951Ensembl: ENSG00000182601.7HGNC: HGNC:5200UniProt: Q9Y661
13PubMed Papers
20Diseases
0Drugs
0Pathogenic Variants
DATA QUALITY
✓ Experimental GO Evidence✓ Swiss-Prot Reviewed
[heparan sulfate]-glucosamine 3-sulfotransferase activityheparan sulfate proteoglycan metabolic processsulfotransferase activityheparan sulfate proteoglycan biosynthetic processpoisoningceliac diseasegestational diabetesidiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
✦AI Summary

HS3ST4 (heparan sulfate-glucosamine 3-sulfotransferase 4) is a sulfotransferase that catalyzes the transfer of a sulfo group to N-unsubstituted glucosamine residues on heparan sulfate (HS) chains, utilizing 3'-phospho-5'-adenylyl sulfate as a cofactor 1. Unlike the structurally related HS3ST1 isoform, HS3ST4 does not convert non-anticoagulant heparan sulfate to anticoagulant forms. HS3ST4 participates in HS biosynthetic maturation through catalysis of the rare 3-O-sulfation modification 1. Mechanistically, HS3ST4 expression enhances cytotoxicity and fusogenic activity following varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection through interaction with VZV glycoproteins, though without affecting viral genome replication 2. Disease relevance encompasses multiple contexts: genetic variants in HS3ST4 associate with post-herpetic neuralgia and herpes zoster reactivation 2, cognitive decline in elderly non-demented individuals 3, osteosarcoma prognosis 4, skin aging phenotypes 5, brain iron accumulation in neurodegeneration 6, and breast cancer metabolic stage progression 7. HS3ST4 methylation patterns correlate with placental cadmium exposure in a sex-specific manner and affect cell damage response pathways 8. In cancer contexts, HS3ST4 may function as both a tumor suppressor and promoter depending on cancer phenotype and molecular signature 1, warranting further investigation for therapeutic targeting.

Sources cited
1
HS3ST4 catalyzes 3-O-sulfation maturation in heparan sulfate; altered expression occurs in various cancers with context-dependent tumor-promoting or suppressing effects
PMID: 31249810
2
HS3ST4 rs12596324 SNP associates with post-herpetic neuralgia and herpes zoster; HS3ST4 expression enhances VZV-induced cytotoxicity and fusogenic activity without affecting viral replication
PMID: 34904858
3
HS3ST4 identified as a novel GWAS locus associated with postmortem brain iron accumulation in neurodegenerative disease context
PMID: 39918201
4
HS3ST4 shows sex-specific hypomethylation in high placental cadmium exposure; involved in cell damage response pathways
PMID: 25701811
5
HS3ST4 identified as mitochondrial autophagy-related prognostic gene in osteosarcoma with correlation to immune microenvironment
PMID: 40128298
6
HS3ST4 genetic variants associated with skin pigmentation phenotypes in genome-wide association study
PMID: 35349426
7
HS3ST4 targeted by miR-592 in Stage I breast cancer and implicated in carbohydrate metabolism pathways across cancer stages
PMID: 37247276
8
HS3ST4 identified as less direct regulator of inflammatory processes associated with cognitive decline in non-demented elderly
PMID: 26718789
Disease Associationsⓘ20
poisoningOpen Targets
0.39Weak
celiac diseaseOpen Targets
0.33Weak
gestational diabetesOpen Targets
0.33Weak
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosisOpen Targets
0.33Weak
male infertilityOpen Targets
0.33Weak
malunion fractureOpen Targets
0.32Weak
smoking initiationOpen Targets
0.30Weak
MyoclonusOpen Targets
0.29Weak
injuryOpen Targets
0.26Weak
infectious meningitisOpen Targets
0.25Weak
response to xenobiotic stimulusOpen Targets
0.25Weak
bronchial diseaseOpen Targets
0.24Weak
male reproductive organ cancerOpen Targets
0.24Weak
psoriatic arthritisOpen Targets
0.24Weak
alcohol drinkingOpen Targets
0.23Weak
contractureOpen Targets
0.23Weak
eye diseaseOpen Targets
0.22Weak
depressive disorderOpen Targets
0.21Weak
pathological myopiaOpen Targets
0.21Weak
pyogenic granulomaOpen Targets
0.21Weak
Pathogenic Variants
No pathogenic variants reported on ClinVar for this gene.
View on ClinVar ↗
Related Genes
HS2ST1Shared pathway100%HS6ST3Shared pathway100%HS6ST2Shared pathway100%HS3ST6Shared pathway100%SULT1C3Protein interaction73%SULT1C4Protein interaction72%
Tissue Expression6 tissues
Brain
100%
Bone Marrow
1%
Ovary
0%
Liver
0%
Lung
0%
Heart
0%
Gene Interaction Network
Click a node to explore
HS3ST4HS2ST1HS6ST3HS6ST2HS3ST6SULT1C3SULT1C4
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
Preparing viewer…
AlphaFoldAI-predicted · UniProt Q9Y661
View on AlphaFold ↗
Constraintⓘ
LOEUFⓘ
1.14LoF Tolerant
pLIⓘ
0.00Tolerant
Observed/Expected LoF0.76 [0.52–1.14]
RankingsWhere HS3ST4 stands among ~20K protein-coding genes
  • #16,187of 20,598
    Most Researched13
  • #11,761of 17,882
    Most Constrained (LOEUF)1.14
Genes detectedHS3ST4
Sources retrieved10 papers
Response time—
📄 Sources
10▼
1
Genetic Markers of Postmortem Brain Iron.
PMID: 39918201
J Neurochem · 2025
1.00
2
Infant sex-specific placental cadmium and DNA methylation associations.
PMID: 25701811
Environ Res · 2015
0.90
3
Identification and characterization of mitochondrial autophagy-related genes in osteosarcoma and predicting clinical prognosis.
PMID: 40128298
Sci Rep · 2025
0.80
4
The Emerging Roles of Heparan Sulfate 3-
PMID: 31249810
Front Oncol · 2019
0.70
5
Identifi cation of the Underlying Genetic Factors of Skin Aging in a Korean Population Study.
PMID: 35349426
J Cosmet Sci · 2021
0.60