Sulfation

Sulfation in biochemistry is the enzyme-catalyzed addition of sulfate to another molecule. It often refers to a phase II enzyme reaction. This biotransformation process uses its cosubstrate 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS) to transfer sulfate to a xenobiotic. Most of the time this is effective in rendering the xenobiotic less active from a pharmacological and toxicological standpoint, but sometimes it plays a role in the activation of xenobiotics (e.g. aromatic amines, methyl substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons).

Sulfation is also a possible posttranslational modification of protein. The target amino acid is tyrosine and the reaction is called tyrosine sulfation.

Another example of a biological sulfation reaction is in the creation of sulfated glycosaminoglycans. Here, the sulfate group is being added either via oxygen (O-sulfation) or nitrogen (N-sulfation).