Platelet membrane glycoprotein I: structure and function. The domain of glycoprotein I involved in the von Willebrand receptor.

The basic structure of platelet membrane glycoprotein I (GPI) and its relation to glycocalicin are now well understood. Glycocalicin is a proteolytic fragment produced by the action of an endogenous Ca2+ activated protease. GPI consists of two glycopeptides, an alpha and a beta chain connected by a disulphide bridge. Glycocalicin is the major part of the GPI alpha chain and can be split by trypsin into a heavily glycosylated trypsin-resistant fragment and a peptide containing at least one intramolecular disulphide bridge and a thrombin binding site. Both the alpha and the beta chains of GPI show hydrophobic properties and are probably integral membrane proteins. The position of the von Willebrand factor binding site within the GPI molecule is still controversial but the bulk of the evidence points to it lying within the non-glycosylated part of the glycocalicin fragment. It is however evident that the GPI beta chain may influence the GPI alpha chain in maintaining the correct conformation of the binding site. The von Willebrand factor binding site and the thrombin binding site appear to be independent but may nevertheless influence one another.