B4GALT2 Gene

HGNC Family	Glycosyltransferases
Name	UDP-Gal:betaGlcNAc beta 1,4- galactosyltransferase, polypeptide 2
Description	This gene is one of seven beta-1,4-galactosyltransferase (beta4GalT) genes. They encode type II membrane-bound glycoproteins that appear to have exclusive specificity for the donor substrate UDP-galactose; all transfer galactose in a beta1,4 linkage to similar acceptor sugars: GlcNAc, Glc, and Xyl. Each beta4GalT has a distinct function in the biosynthesis of different glycoconjugates and saccharide structures. As type II membrane proteins, they have an N-terminal hydrophobic signal sequence that directs the protein to the Golgi apparatus and which then remains uncleaved to function as a transmembrane anchor. By sequence similarity, the beta4GalTs form four groups: beta4GalT1 and beta4GalT2, beta4GalT3 and beta4GalT4, beta4GalT5 and beta4GalT6, and beta4GalT7. The enzyme encoded by this gene synthesizes N-acetyllactosamine in glycolipids and glycoproteins. Its substrate specificity is affected by alpha-lactalbumin but it is not expressed in lactating mammary tissue. Three transcript variants encoding two different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2011]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n B4GALT2 is a member of the β‐1,4‐galactosyltransferase family that catalyzes the transfer of galactose to specific glycan acceptors during glycoprotein biosynthesis. Functional studies demonstrate that B4GALT2 plays a critical role in the formation of distinct glycan structures. For example, in the developing brain the enzyme is essential for generating O‐mannosylated glycans that display the Lewis X epitope on phosphacan/receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase β—a modification that is markedly reduced in B4GALT2‐deficient mice, highlighting its importance in neural cell–cell interactions and brain development."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In addition, mutations in glycosyltransferase genes—including B4GALT2—have been identified in colon and other gastrointestinal cancers, suggesting that deleterious alterations in B4GALT2 may underlie aberrant N‐glycosylation processes that contribute to tumor pathogenesis."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Furthermore, reduced expression of B4GALT2 in B cells has been linked with abnormal glycosylation of immunoglobulin A in a model of IgA nephropathy, implicating the enzyme in the maintenance of proper glycan structures for immune function."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Clinical genetic studies have also revealed that a variant in the B4GALT2 gene (c.909C>T) is associated with lower platelet reactivity in patients under clopidogrel‐based antiplatelet therapy. This finding positions B4GALT2 as an independent genetic predictor for on‐treatment platelet function and potentially influences drug response and bleeding risk."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In recombinant protein production systems, such as Chinese hamster ovary cells, modulation of glycosylation‐related gene expression by compounds like sodium butyrate has been shown to downregulate B4GALT2. This alteration affects the overall sialylation and maturation state of N‐glycans on secreted proteins."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Moreover, comparative analyses in engineered CHO cells expressing individual β‐1,4‐galactosyltransferase isoenzymes underscore that B4GALT2 contributes in a site‐specific manner to N‐glycan galactosylation, thereby influencing product quality in high‐yield cell lines."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Together, these findings illustrate that B4GALT2 is pivotal not only for the proper assembly of glycan epitopes in development and immune regulation but also in pathological contexts such as cancer and thrombosis, as well as in bioprocessing applications where glycosylation fidelity is critical."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "1", "end_ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Shohei Yaji, Hiroshi Manya, Naoki Nakagawa, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Major glycan structure underlying expression of the Lewis X epitope in the developing brain is O-mannose-linked glycans on phosphacan/RPTPβ."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Glycobiology (2015)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1093/glycob/cwu118"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1093/glycob/cwu118"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "25361541"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25361541"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Srividya Venkitachalam, Leslie Revoredo, Vinay Varadan, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Biochemical and functional characterization of glycosylation-associated mutational landscapes in colon cancer."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Sci Rep (2016)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/srep23642"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/srep23642"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "27004849"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27004849"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hiroyuki Inoshita, Byung-Gyu Kim, Michifumi Yamashita, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Disruption of Smad4 expression in T cells leads to IgA nephropathy-like manifestations."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "PLoS One (2013)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1371/journal.pone.0078736"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0078736"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "24223846"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24223846"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nicolas Pallet, Tiphaine Belleville-Rolland, Anne Savalle, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Beta-1,4-galactosyltransferase 2 c.909C>T gene variant is predictive of on-clopidogrel platelet reactivity."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Pharmacogenomics (2018)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.2217/pgs-2018-0057"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.2217/pgs-2018-0057"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "30020015"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30020015"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Sang Min Lee, Yeon-Gu Kim, Eun Gyo Lee, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Digital mRNA profiling of N-glycosylation gene expression in recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cells treated with sodium butyrate."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biotechnol (2014)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.jbiotec.2013.12.001"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiotec.2013.12.001"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "24333461"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24333461"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nina Bydlinski, Daniel Maresch, Valerie Schmieder, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The contributions of individual galactosyltransferases to protein specific N-glycan processing in Chinese Hamster Ovary cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biotechnol (2018)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.jbiotec.2018.07.015"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiotec.2018.07.015"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "30017654"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30017654"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	BETA4GAL-T2, B4GAL-T2, B4GAL-T3
Proteins	B4GT2_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	8704
API
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Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

B4GALT2 has 5,761 functional associations with biological entities spanning 8 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA) extracted from 112 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for B4GALT2 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

B4GALT2 Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles	cell lines with fitness changed by B4GALT2 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of B4GALT2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of B4GALT2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles	tissue samples with high or low expression of B4GALT2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of B4GALT2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq	tissue samples with high or low expression of B4GALT2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of B4GALT2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of B4GALT2 gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of B4GALT2 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of B4GALT2 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures	small molecule perturbations changing expression of B4GALT2 gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of B4GALT2 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of B4GALT2 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with B4GALT2 gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of B4GALT2 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of B4GALT2 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of B4GALT2 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CM4AI U2OS Cell Map Protein Localization Assemblies	assemblies containing B4GALT2 protein from integrated AP-MS and IF data from the CM4AI U2OS Cell Map Protein Localization Assemblies dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of B4GALT2 gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing B4GALT2 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing B4GALT2 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with B4GALT2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with B4GALT2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of B4GALT2 gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with B4GALT2 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with B4GALT2 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action	small molecule perturbations with high or low expression of B4GALT2 protein relative to other small molecule perturbations from the DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by B4GALT2 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with B4GALT2 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with B4GALT2 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with B4GALT2 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with B4GALT2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with B4GALT2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	DrugBank Drug Targets	interacting drugs for B4GALT2 protein from the curated DrugBank Drug Targets dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at B4GALT2 gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of B4GALT2 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of B4GALT2 gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing B4GALT2 from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of B4GALT2 gene relative to other cell lines from the GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations	biological terms co-occuring with B4GALT2 gene in literature-supported statements describing functions of genes from the GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations dataset.