Glycophorin
| Glycophorin A | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dimeric transmembrane domain of human glycophorin A (20 NMR-determined structures) | |||||||||
| Identifiers | |||||||||
| Symbol | GYPA | ||||||||
| Pfam | PF01102 | ||||||||
| InterPro | IPR001195 | ||||||||
| PROSITE | PDOC00281 | ||||||||
| SCOP2 | 1afo / SCOPe / SUPFAM | ||||||||
| OPM superfamily | 25 | ||||||||
| OPM protein | 5eh4 | ||||||||
| Membranome | 156 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
A glycophorin is a sialoglycoprotein of the membrane of a red blood cell. It is a membrane-spanning protein and carries sugar molecules. It is heavily glycosylated (60%). Glycophorins are rich in sialic acid, which gives the red blood cells a very hydrophilic-charged coat. This enables them to circulate without adhering to other cells or vessel walls.
A particular mutation in Glycophorins is thought to produce a 40% reduction in risk of severe malaria.