Involved in the biosynthesis of L2/HNK-1 carbohydrate epitope on glycoproteins. Can also play a role in glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis. Substrates include asialo-orosomucoid (ASOR), asialo-fetuin, and asialo-neural cell adhesion molecule. Requires sphingomyelin for activity: stearoyl-sphingomyelin was the