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10 sources retrieved · Most recent: April 2026 · Index updated 15 days ago
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ST6GALNAC6
ST6 N-acetylgalactosaminide alpha-2,6-sialyltransferase 6
Chromosome 9 · 9q34.11
NCBI Gene: 30815Ensembl: ENSG00000160408.16HGNC: HGNC:23364UniProt: A0A0S2Z5G9
17PubMed Papers
20Diseases
0Drugs
0Pathogenic Variants
DATA QUALITY
✓ Experimental GO Evidence✓ Swiss-Prot Reviewed
cell-cell recognitionprotein bindingsialyltransferase activityglycosylceramide metabolic processCOVID-19colorectal carcinomaCrohn's diseasecutaneous lupus erythematosus
✦AI Summary

ST6GALNAC6 is an α-2,6-sialyltransferase that catalyzes the transfer of sialyl groups from CMP-NeuAc onto glycoproteins and glycolipids, forming α-2,6-linkages 1. The enzyme preferentially acts on glycolipids, mediating ganglioside biosynthesis and generating disialyl structures including disialyl Lewisa, a cancer-associated antigen 2. ST6GALNAC6 also catalyzes formation of the atypical Neu5Acα2-6GlcNAc linkage found in human milk oligosaccharides 3. Functionally, ST6GALNAC6-mediated sialylation is critical for intestinal homeostasis. Mice lacking St6galnac6 exhibit reduced mucin sialylation, producing thinner, more permeable mucus with increased bacterial invasion and heightened susceptibility to intestinal inflammation 4. In colorectal cancer, ST6GALNAC6 expression is epigenetically silenced through NF-κB/EZH2/YY1 and BGN/TLR4/NF-κB axes, reducing immunosuppressive Siglec ligand glycans and promoting carcinogenesis 56. Conversely, stromal cells in colorectal cancer exhibit high ST6GALNAC6 expression, generating hypersialylated glycans that suppress innate immunity via Siglec-10 engagement on macrophages and NK cells 7. In gastric cancer, FOXO-mediated ST6GALNAC6 upregulation promotes elevated sialylation in cancer stem cells, supporting tumor growth 2. ST6GALNAC6 represents a therapeutic target for reversing immunosuppression in cancer while maintaining protective mucosal immunity.

Sources cited
1
ST6GALNAC6 is activated by FOXO transcription factors and promotes sialylation in gastric cancer stem cells
PMID: 39164456
2
St6galnac6 mediates Muc2 sialylation critical for mucus network structure and protection against bacterial invasion
PMID: 37385587
3
ST6GalNAc6 catalyzes α-2,6-sialyltransferase activity forming linkages on GalNAc and GlcNAc residues
PMID: 41087799
4
ST6GALNAC6 is epigenetically silenced in colorectal cancer through NF-κB/EZH2/YY1 axis, reducing immunosuppressive Siglec ligands
PMID: 30716533
5
Stromal cells express high ST6GALNAC6 levels generating hypersialylated glycans that suppress macrophage and NK cell function via Siglec-10
PMID: 41111063
6
BGN/TLR4/NF-κB pathway epigenetically silences ST6GALNAC6 in colon cancer, reducing disialyl Lewisa and Siglec-7 ligands
PMID: 32050430
7
ST6GalNAc6 catalyzes formation of atypical Neu5Acα2-6GlcNAc linkage in human milk oligosaccharides and enables Siglec recognition
PMID: 39223086
Disease Associationsⓘ20
COVID-19Open Targets
0.02Suggestive
colorectal carcinomaOpen Targets
0.01Suggestive
Crohn's diseaseOpen Targets
0.01Suggestive
cutaneous lupus erythematosusOpen Targets
0.01Suggestive
cancerOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
lung adenocarcinomaOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
pachyonychia congenitaOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
posterior cortical atrophyOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
renal cell carcinomaOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
neoplasmOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
major depressive disorderOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
sessile serrated polypOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
Alzheimer diseaseOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
colonic neoplasmOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
esophageal cancerOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
familial pancreatic carcinomaOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
pancreatic adenocarcinomaOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
ThymomaOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
thyroid cancer, nonmedullary, 1Open Targets
0.00Suggestive
uterine corpus endometrial carcinomaOpen Targets
0.00Suggestive
Pathogenic Variants
No pathogenic variants reported on ClinVar for this gene.
View on ClinVar ↗
Related Genes
ST3GAL1Protein interaction93%ST3GAL2Protein interaction69%ST6GALNAC5Shared pathway63%ST8SIA3Shared pathway50%B3GALT4Shared pathway44%ST6GALNAC3Shared pathway44%
Tissue Expression6 tissues
Ovary
100%
Lung
79%
Liver
69%
Brain
44%
Bone Marrow
1%
Heart
0%
Gene Interaction Network
Click a node to explore
ST6GALNAC6ST3GAL1ST3GAL2ST6GALNAC5ST8SIA3B3GALT4ST6GALNAC3
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
Preparing viewer…
AlphaFoldAI-predicted · UniProt Q969X2
View on AlphaFold ↗
Constraintⓘ
LOEUFⓘ
0.75LoF Tolerant
pLIⓘ
0.01Tolerant
Observed/Expected LoF0.50 [0.34–0.75]
RankingsWhere ST6GALNAC6 stands among ~20K protein-coding genes
  • #15,125of 20,598
    Most Researched17
  • #5,908of 17,882
    Most Constrained (LOEUF)0.75
Genes detectedST6GALNAC6
Sources retrieved10 papers
Response time—
📄 Sources
10▼
1
CCKBR+ cancer cells contribute to the intratumor heterogeneity of gastric cancer and confer sensitivity to FOXO inhibition.
PMID: 39164456
Cell Death Differ · 2024
1.00
2
Sialylation shapes mucus architecture inhibiting bacterial invasion in the colon.
PMID: 37385587
Mucosal Immunol · 2023
0.90
3
Expression of functional human sialyltransferases ST6GalNAc5 and ST6GalNAc6 in Pichia pastoris.
PMID: 41087799
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol · 2025
0.80
4
Epigenetic silencing of the synthesis of immunosuppressive Siglec ligand glycans by NF-κB/EZH2/YY1 axis in early-stage colon cancers.
PMID: 30716533
Biochim Biophys Acta Gene Regul Mech · 2019
0.70
5
Stromal cells modulate innate immune cell phenotype and function in colorectal cancer via the Sialic acid/Siglec axis.
PMID: 41111063
J Immunother Cancer · 2025
0.60