The evolution of the class A scavenger receptors.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The class A scavenger receptors are a subclass of a diverse family of proteins defined based on their ability to bind modified lipoproteins. The 5 members of this family are strikingly variable in their protein structure and function, raising the question as to whether it is appropriate to group them as a family based on their ligand binding abilities.

Results

To investigate these relationships, we defined the domain architecture of each of the 5 members followed by collecting and annotating class A scavenger receptor mRNA and amino acid sequences from publicly available databases. Phylogenetic analyses, sequence alignments, and permutation tests revealed a common evolutionary ancestry of these proteins, indicating that they form a protein family. We postulate tha

SUBMITTER: Whelan FJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3567963 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature