Lunatic Fringe (LFNG)

LFNG is a member of the fringe gene family which also includes radical and manic fringe genes. They all encode evolutionarily conserved glycosyltransferases that act in the Notch signaling pathway to define boundaries during embryonic development. While their genomic structure is distinct from other glycosyltransferases, fringe proteins have a fucose-specific beta-1,3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase activity that leads to elongation of O-linked fucose residues on Notch, which alters Notch signaling. This gene product is predicted to be a single-pass type II Golgi membrane protein but it may also be secreted and proteolytically processed like the related proteins in mouse and Drosophila. Mutations in this gene have been associated with autosomal recessive spondylocostal dysostosis 3.