3-fucosyl-N-acetyl-lactosamine is trisaccharide designated as CD15. Its most salient property is self recognition, which is seldom found in nature. Based on its transient feature in brain tissue and its differential expression during aging several functions have been proposed for this sugar. The most acceptable is still regulation of adhesion during development and aging. Sugar expression evolves from the production of the enzymes involved in the synthesis of the sugar. Therefore research has been directed towards the CD15 constituting enzymes alpha 3-fucosyltransferases and their chromosomal localization. Since CD15 can be used in typing tumors, it's use in pathological research has increased in recent years.
Biomedical Reviews 1994; 3: 1-9.
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