The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the sulfotransferase 2 family. It is localized to the golgi membrane, and catalyzes the transfer of sulfate to position 4 of the N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) residue of chondroitin and desulfated dermatan sulfate. Chondroitin sulfate constitutes the predominant proteoglycan present in cartilage, and is distributed on the surfaces of many cells and extracellular matrices. Alternatively spliced transcript variants differing only in their 5' UTRs have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2011]