| description | Protein involved in the synthesis or the attachment to a protein of a GPI-anchor (glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor) or a GPI-like-anchor (glycosylsphingolipidinositol anchor), both of which have complex oligoglycan linked to a phospholipidinositol molecule that serves to attach the C-terminus of some extracellular membrane proteins to the lipid bilayer of a membrane. The core glycolipid is composed of a tetraglycan: three mannose units and one glucosamine linked to a phospholipidinositol. The terminal mannose is linked to the protein via an ethanolamine attached to the C-terminal of the mature protein The core structure is conserved from protozoa to humans. There are, however, marked differences in the glycosyl side chains attached to the core glycolipid. The phospholipid component may be either a phosphatide (two long chain fatty acids attached by ester linkage to glycerol phosphate) or a sphingolipid (a long chain fatty acid attached by amide linkage to a ceramide phosphate). Some yeast and Dictyosteliida synthesize the GPI-like anchor de novo, whereas other organisms may interconvert the lipid components by a "resculpting" process after the anchor is attached to the protein |
