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10 sources retrieved · Most recent: April 2026 · Index updated 15 days ago
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ST6GALNAC3
ST6 N-acetylgalactosaminide alpha-2,6-sialyltransferase 3
Chromosome 1 · 1p31.1
NCBI Gene: 256435Ensembl: ENSG00000184005.12HGNC: HGNC:19343UniProt: B4DM98
24PubMed Papers
20Diseases
0Drugs
0Pathogenic Variants
DATA QUALITY
✓ Experimental GO Evidence✓ Swiss-Prot Reviewed
glycosphingolipid metabolic processglycosylceramide metabolic processsialyltransferase activityglycoprotein metabolic processCOVID-19severe acute respiratory syndromeadolescent idiopathic scoliosisvascular disease
✦AI Summary

ST6GALNAC3 is a sialyltransferase that catalyzes the transfer of sialyl groups to GalNAc residues on glycoproteins and glycolipids, forming alpha-2,6-linkages 12. The enzyme preferentially acts on glycolipids and catalyzes ganglioside GD1α biosynthesis from GM1b 12. GD1α functions as a critical adhesion molecule in neuronal cell interactions and metastatic processes 2. ST6GALNAC3 operates alongside ST6GALNAC4 in synthesizing disialyl-T structures essential for maintaining high endothelial venule integrity in lymph nodes; their combined deficiency causes spontaneous hemorrhage 3. In disease contexts, ST6GALNAC3 shows significant clinical relevance: its promoter hypermethylation serves as a cancer-specific biomarker in prostate cancer with high diagnostic accuracy (AUC 0.917-0.995) and is detectable in circulating tumor DNA from patient serum 4. In gastric cancer, ST6GALNAC3 promotes arachidonic acid metabolism and prostaglandin synthesis, increasing M2 macrophage infiltration and inducing epithelial mesenchymal transformation as a prognostic marker 5. In ovarian cancer, the adipose microenvironment upregulates ST6GALNAC3 expression, promoting tumor cell hypersialylation that enables immune evasion and metastatic colonization 6. Additionally, ST6GALNAC3 associates with EEG theta power variability and alcoholism susceptibility 7, suggesting roles in neurobiological processes.

Sources cited
1
ST6GALNAC3 catalyzes ganglioside GD1α biosynthesis from GM1b with preference for glycolipids over glycoproteins
PMID: 16169874
2
ST6GALNAC3 catalyzes ganglioside GD1α synthesis; GD1α functions as an adhesion molecule in metastasis; sialylation is important in tumor development, neuronal development, and immunological processes
PMID: 17123352
3
ST6GALNAC3 and ST6GALNAC4 are required for disialyl-T synthesis in lymph nodes; double knockout mice show hemorrhage due to disrupted high endothelial venule structure
PMID: 37386100
4
ST6GALNAC3 promoter hypermethylation is cancer-specific in prostate cancer (AUC 0.917-0.995) and detectable as circulating tumor DNA in serum
PMID: 29465788
5
ST6GALNAC3 promotes arachidonic acid metabolism, prostaglandin synthesis, M2 macrophage infiltration, and epithelial mesenchymal transformation in gastric cancer as a prognostic marker
PMID: 37138287
6
Adipose microenvironment upregulates ST6GALNAC3 expression, promoting ovarian cancer cell hypersialylation that confers immune resistance and enables adipose tissue metastasis
PMID: 39104719
7
ST6GALNAC3 shows nominal genome-wide association with EEG theta power variability and associates with alcoholism susceptibility
PMID: 20421487
8
ST6GALNAC3 expression is downregulated in acute coronary syndrome patients at initial presentation and after treatment
PMID: 24748045
Disease Associationsⓘ20
COVID-19Open Targets
0.46Moderate
severe acute respiratory syndromeOpen Targets
0.37Weak
adolescent idiopathic scoliosisOpen Targets
0.31Weak
vascular diseaseOpen Targets
0.30Weak
tricuspid valve diseaseOpen Targets
0.29Weak
head injuryOpen Targets
0.28Weak
HypocalcemiaOpen Targets
0.28Weak
temporomandibular joint disorderOpen Targets
0.27Weak
Abruptio PlacentaeOpen Targets
0.24Weak
ankylosing spondylitisOpen Targets
0.24Weak
bronchial diseaseOpen Targets
0.23Weak
osteoarthritisOpen Targets
0.18Weak
early-onset non-syndromic cataractOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
Total congenital cataractOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
Cataract-microcornea syndromeOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
corneal ulcerOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
Partial congenital cataractOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
early-onset nuclear cataractOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
Cataract with Y-shaped suture opacitiesOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
Posterior polar cataractOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
Pathogenic Variants
No pathogenic variants reported on ClinVar for this gene.
View on ClinVar ↗
Related Genes
ST3GAL2Protein interaction93%AHSGProtein interaction78%ST3GAL1Protein interaction69%ST6GALNAC4Shared pathway67%ST8SIA3Shared pathway50%ST8SIA6Shared pathway44%
Tissue Expression6 tissues
Brain
100%
Lung
93%
Heart
76%
Bone Marrow
33%
Ovary
26%
Liver
18%
Gene Interaction Network
Click a node to explore
ST6GALNAC3ST3GAL2AHSGST3GAL1ST6GALNAC4ST8SIA3ST8SIA6
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
Preparing viewer…
AlphaFoldAI-predicted · UniProt Q8NDV1
View on AlphaFold ↗
Constraintⓘ
LOEUFⓘ
0.99LoF Tolerant
pLIⓘ
0.00Tolerant
Observed/Expected LoF0.68 [0.48–0.99]
RankingsWhere ST6GALNAC3 stands among ~20K protein-coding genes
  • #13,319of 20,598
    Most Researched24
  • #9,567of 17,882
    Most Constrained (LOEUF)0.99
Genes detectedST6GALNAC3
Sources retrieved10 papers
Response time—
📄 Sources
10▼
1
Biomarker potential of ST6GALNAC3 and ZNF660 promoter hypermethylation in prostate cancer tissue and liquid biopsies.
PMID: 29465788
Mol Oncol · 2018
1.00
2
Reduction in disialyl-T antigen levels in mice deficient for both St6galnac3 and St6galnac4 results in blood filling of lymph nodes.
PMID: 37386100
Sci Rep · 2023
0.90
3
An Efficient Probe-Based Quantitative PCR Assay Targeting Human-Specific DNA in ST6GALNAC3 for the Quantification of Human Cells in Preclinical Animal Models.
PMID: 38456963
Mol Biotechnol · 2025
0.80
4
Construction of a lipid metabolism-related and immune-associated prognostic score for gastric cancer.
PMID: 37138287
BMC Med Genomics · 2023
0.70
5
Adipose microenvironment promotes hypersialylation of ovarian cancer cells.
PMID: 39104719
Front Oncol · 2024
0.60