Lipid-binding serum glycoprotein Lipid-binding serum glycoprotein In molecular biology, the lipid-binding serum glycoproteins family, also known as the BPI/LBP/Plunc family or LBP/BPI/CETP family represents a family which includes mammalian lipid-binding serum glycoproteins. Members of this family include: These proteins consist of N- and C-terminal domains, which share a similar two-layer alpha/beta structure, but show little sequence identity to each other. Bactericidal permeability-increasing protein (BPI) is a potent antimicrobial protein of 456 amino acids that binds to and neutralises lipopolysaccharides from the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. BPI contains two domains that adopt the same structural fold, even though they have little sequence similarity.
Angiocrine growth factors Angiocrine growth factors Angiocrine growth factors are molecules found in blood vessels' endothelial cells that can stimulate organ-specific repair activities in damaged or diseased organs. Endothelial cells possess tissue-specific genes that code for unique growth factors, adhesion molecules and factors regulating metabolism. The discovery emerged after the entirety of active genes in endothelial cells was decoded, resulting in an atlas of organ-specific blood vessel cells. The atlas documented hundreds of already-known genes that had never been associated with these cells. Organs dictate the structure and function of their own blood vessels, including the repair molecules they secrete. Each organ produces