2019 Volume 59 Issue 6 Pages 295-299
Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored protein is posttranslationally modified by a glycolipid, GPI, and embedded in the outer leaflet of the plasma membranes. Although the GPI anchor plays crucial roles for regulation in many biological events, it remains unknown how the anchor at the C-terminus of the protein contributes to their biological activities. One of the reasons is the difficulty in acquiring sufficient amount of proteins for structural or interactional analyses in the overexpression requiring complex posttranslational modification. This review discusses our recent studies on the biological function of the anchor using a semi-synthetic mimic of GPI-anchored protein.
