Flower D R
Department of Physical Chemistry, Fisons Plc, Pharmaceuticals Division, R&D Laboratories, Loughborough, Leicestershire, UK.
FEBS Lett. 1994 Oct 31;354(1):7-11. doi: 10.1016/0014-5793(94)01078-1.
The lipocalins, a large, diverse, but relatively poorly understood family of small extracellular proteins, are characterized by the ability to bind small hydrophobic molecules, such as retinol, and by their binding to specific cell surface receptors. These general properties suggest such proteins as appropriate transporters transferring biologically hazardous molecules in a safe and controlled manner between cells. Moreover, many lipocalins have been implicated in the regulation of cell homeostasis: apolipoprotein D, quiescience specific protein, purpurin, alpha-1-microglobulin, and NGAL. This combination of direct and indirect evidence suggests that the lipocalin protein family may be involved, in a quite general way, in the mediation of cell regulation and that many presently functionless family members might act in this way.
脂质运载蛋白是一类庞大、多样但相对了解较少的小型细胞外蛋白家族，其特点是能够结合视黄醇等小的疏水分子，并能与特定的细胞表面受体结合。这些一般特性表明，这类蛋白质是合适的转运蛋白，能够以安全、可控的方式在细胞间转运具有生物危害性的分子。此外，许多脂质运载蛋白与细胞内稳态的调节有关，如载脂蛋白D、静止特异性蛋白、紫红素、α-1-微球蛋白和中性粒细胞明胶酶相关脂质运载蛋白。这些直接和间接证据表明，脂质运载蛋白家族可能以一种相当普遍的方式参与细胞调节的介导过程，而且许多目前功能未知的家族成员可能也起着这样的作用。
