LBP [LPS (lipopolysaccharide)-binding protein] was discovered approximately 25 years ago. Since then, substantial progress has been made towards our understanding of its function in health and disease. Furthermore, the discovery of a large protein family sharing functional and structural attributes has helped in our knowledge. Still, key questions are unresolved, and here an overview on the old and new findings on LBP is given. LBP is an acute-phase protein of the liver, but is also synthesized in other cells of the organism. While LBP is named after the ability to bind to LPS of Gram-negative bacteria, it also can recognize other bacterial compounds, such as lipopeptides. It has been shown that LBP is needed to combat infections; however, the main mechanism of action is still not clear. New findings on natural genetic variations of LBP leading to functional consequences may help in further elucidating the mechanism of LBP and its role in innate immunity and disease.
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August 2011
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Conference Article|
July 20 2011
Old and new findings on lipopolysaccharide-binding protein: a soluble pattern-recognition molecule
Ralf R. Schumann
Ralf R. Schumann
1
1Institute for Microbiology, Charité University Medical School, Berlin, Germany
1email ralf.schumann@charite.de
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Biochem Soc Trans (2011) 39 (4): 989–993.
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Received:
March 31 2011
Citation
Ralf R. Schumann; Old and new findings on lipopolysaccharide-binding protein: a soluble pattern-recognition molecule. Biochem Soc Trans 1 August 2011; 39 (4): 989–993. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST0390989
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