Editorial
Copyright ©2008 The WJG Press and Baishideng.
World J Gastroenterol. Jul 21, 2008; 14(27): 4265-4272
Published online Jul 21, 2008. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.4265
Figure 1
Figure 1 Biosynthetic pathways of Lewis antigens starting from type 1 lacto series core chains. Starting from type 1 core chains, an α1, 2-fucosyltransferase (Se) transfers fucose (Fuc) to the terminal galactose (Gal), resulting in the H-1 antigen (H1). H-1 antigen is a target for GalNAc- or Gal-transferases (in blood group A or B individuals) or remains unmodified (in blood group O individuals). These intermediates the are modified for the fucosylation step by an α1,3/4-fucosyltransferase (Le), resulting in the difucosylated histo-blood group antigens ALeb, ALeb and Leb. Non-secretors are unable to produce an active Se product, and are only targets for the Le gene product Lea.