 3'-Phosphoadenylyl sulfate

3'-Phosphoadenylyl sulfate, abbreviated PAPS, is a nucleotide used as an activated donor in sulfation. Its adenosine unit bears phosphate groups at the ribose 3′ and 5′ positions; a sulfo group is attached to the 5′ phosphate. That covalent arrangement distinguishes PAPS from free sulfate dissolved alongside an unrelated nucleotide.^[ref]

A concrete example is heparan sulfate glucosamine N-sulfotransferase. The enzyme transfers the sulfur-containing group from PAPS to a glucosamine nitrogen within heparan sulfate, leaving adenosine 3',5'-bisphosphate. Abbreviating that product as PAP, the transfer can be summarized schematically asThis schematic omits proton and charge bookkeeping; the IUBMB reaction specifies the actual polymer-associated acceptor.^[ref]

The example separates donor availability from product specificity. PAPS supplies a transferable group, while the enzyme determines which acceptor and attachment site participate. Supplying sulfate is therefore not, by itself, a specification of which position in a glycosaminoglycan becomes modified.