Lipid-anchored protein

Lipid-anchored proteins (also known as lipid-linked proteins) are proteins that are covalently attached to lipids embedded into biological membranes. The lipid-anchored protein can be located on either side of the cell membrane. Thus, the lipid serves to anchor the protein to the cell membrane. Such proteins are a type of proteolipids.

The lipid groups contribute to the intracellular localization and the biological function of the protein to which they are attached. The lipid serves as a mediator of the protein association with specific biological membranes and protein-protein interactions. The lipidation can also sequester a protein away from its substrate to inactivate the protein and then activate it by substrate presentation.

Overall, there are three main types of lipid-anchored proteins which include prenylated proteins, fatty acylated proteins and glycosylphosphatidylinositol-linked proteins (GPI). A protein can have multiple lipid groups covalently attached to specific amino acid residues.

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