Studying on ppGalNAcT with focus on the roles of mucin-type carbohydrates in the retinal development.

我们从斑马鱼cDNA文库中克隆并鉴定了18个编码ppGalNAcT的基因，与人类基因组中的20个同工酶相对应。然后，我们在胚胎早期发育阶段检测了它们的mrna，发现每个成员主要在眼睛，大脑和骨骼肌中具有特征表达模式。利用反义RNA抑制ppGalNAcT17和T18分别导致中枢神经系统和尾巴发育缺陷。

We cloned and identified 18 genes encoding ppGalNAcT from zebrafish cDNA library, corresponding to 20 isozymes in human genome. Then, we detected their mRNAs in the embryos during early developmental stages, and found that each of members has characteristic expression patterns mainly in eye, brain and skeletal muscle. Suppression of ppGalNAcT17 and T18 using antisense RNA led to developmental defects in the central nervous system and tail, respectively.