Two naturally occurring alpha2,6-sialyltransferase forms with a single amino acid change in the catalytic domain differ in their catalytic activity and proteolytic processing.

The alpha2,6-sialyltransferase (ST) is a Golgi glycosyltransferase that adds sialic acid residues to glycoprotein N-linked oligosaccharides. Here we show that two forms of alpha2,6-sialyltransferase are expressed by the liver and are encoded by two different RNAs that differ by a single nucleotide. The ST tyr possesses a Tyr at amino acid 123, whereas the ST cys possesses a Cys at this position. The ST tyr is more catalytically active than the ST cys; however, both are functional when introduced into tissue culture cells. The proteolytic processing and turnover of the ST tyr and ST cys proteins differ dramatically. The ST cys is retained intact in COS-1 cells, whereas the ST tyr is rapidly cleaved and secreted. Analysis of the N-linked oligosaccharides of these proteins demonstrates that both proteins enter the late Golgi. However, differences in ST tyr and ST cys proteolytic processing may be related to differences in their localization, because ST tyr but not ST cys is expressed at low levels on the cell surface. The possibility that the ST tyr is cleaved in a post-Golgi compartment is supported by the observation that a 20 degrees C temperature block, which stops protein transport in the trans Golgi network, blocks both cleavage and secretion of the ST tyr.