Background:
Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a glycosaminoglycan which is an important structural component of the extracellular matrix and which links to proteins to form proteoglycans. Chondroitin sulfate E (CS-E) is an isomer of chondroitin sulfate in which the C-4 and C-6 hydroxyl groups are sulfated. This gene encodes a type II transmembrane glycoprotein that acts as a sulfotransferase to transfer sulfate to the C-6 hydroxal group of chondroitin sulfate. This gene has also been identified as being co-expressed with RAG1 in B-cells and as potentially acting as a B-cell surface signaling receptor. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms.