Endothelial and other select cell types synthesize a subpopulation of heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans (HSPGs), anticoagulant HSPGs (aHSPGs) that bear aHS-HS chains with the cognate 3-Osulfated pentasaccharide motif that can bind and activate antithrombin (AT). Endothelial cells regulate aHSPG production by limiting levels of HS 3-O-sulfotransferase-1 (3-OST-1), which modifies a non-limiting pool of aHS-precursors. By probing kidney cryosections with 125 I-AT and fluorescently tagged AT we found that the glomerular basement membrane contains aHSPGs, with the staining pattern implicating synthesis by glomerular epithelial cells (GECs). Indeed, cultured GECs synthesized aHS with high AT affinity that was comparable with the endothelial product. Disaccharide analyses of human GEC (hGEC) HS in conjunction with transcript analyses revealed that hGECs express predominantly 3-OST-1 and 3-OST-3 A . aHS production has not been previously examined in cells expressing multiple 3-OST isoforms. This unusual situation appears to involve novel mechanisms to regulate aHS production, as HS structural analyses suggest hGECs exhibit excess levels of 3-OST-1 and an extremely limiting pool of aHS-precursor. A limiting aHS-precursor pool may serve to minimize aHS synthesis by non-3-OST-1 isoforms. Indeed, we show that high in vitro levels of 3-OST-3 A can efficiently generate aHS. Non-3-OST-1 isoforms can generate aHS in vivo, as the probing of kidney sections from 3-OST-1-deficient mice revealed GEC synthesis of aHSPGs. Surprisingly, Hs3st1 ؊/؊ kidney only expresses 3-OST isoforms having a low specificity for aHS synthesis. Thus, our analyses reveal a cell type that expresses multiple 3-OST isoforms and produces minimal amounts of aHS-precursor. In part, this mechanism should prevent aHS overproduction by non-3-OST-1 isoforms. Such a role may be essential, as 3-OST isoforms that have a low specificity for aHS synthesis can generate substantial levels of aHSPGs in vivo.The majority of mammalian cell types express heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs), 2 which are comprised of a protein core to which is attached linear chains of heparan sulfate (HS). These pericellular components regulate a myriad of biologic processes (1-6). Tremendous functional diversity stems from the structural complexity of the HS component. The HS chains have a repeated disaccharide unit of N-acetylglucosamine 1 3 4 glucuronic/iduronic acid 1 3 4 (GlcNAc 3 GlcA/IdoA) that is partially decorated with Nand O-sulfate groups. The specific arrangement of these substituents, in large part, gives rise to distinct binding motifs that activate an array of important biologic effector molecules. HS motifs arise through the remodeling of the copolymer backbone by a relatively ordered series of reactions involving an epimerase and four families of sulfotransferases (reviewed in Refs. 1, 3, 7, and 8). 3-O-Sulfation of glucosamine residues is the rarest modification, yet is accomplished by the largest family of HS sulfotransferases, comprised of seven distinct 3-O-sulfotr...