A new fish for the beta2GPI hook: LPS!

摘要

In this issue of Blood, Agar and colleagues provide evidence that the plasma protein beta2-glycoprotein I ((B2GPI) changes conformation to a fish hook structure to bind to bacterial LPS via the protein's carboxyterminal domain, and that this binding promotes the clearance of LPS from the blood circulation..'Beta2GPI is a plasma protein that is familiar to 135 hematologists as the primary antigenic target of autoantibodies in the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Although a range of properties and affinities have been described, some of which are reviewed in the article by Agar et al,the protein's biologic functions have not been established. The mystery is compounded by the observation that deficiency of beta2GPI in humans has not been associated with anv obvious disease or alterations.