Dermatan Sulfate Epimerase (DSE)

DSE is a tumor-rejection antigen. Two transcript variants encoding the same protein have been found for this gene.Sequence analysis predicted that the 958-amino acid SART2 protein contains a signal peptide, 5 potential N-glycosylation sites, and 2 C-terminal hydrophobic potential transmembrane regions. Northern blot analysis revealed expression of a 4.0-kb transcript in all squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cell lines and in some adenocarcinoma cell lines tested. Expression was detected in all normal tissues tested, with highest expression in kidney and ovary and lowest expression in colon, thymus, and brain. Immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrated intracellular expression of SART2 in Golgi, endoplasmic reticulum, and secretory vesicles, but not on the plasma membrane.