Type: | Domain | Name: | Link domain |
Description: | The link domain [] is a hyaluronan(HA)-binding region found in proteins of vertebrates that are involved in the assembly of extracellular matrix, cell adhesion, and migration. The structure has been shown [] to consist of two alpha helices and two antiparallel beta sheets arranged around a large hydrophobic core similar to that of C-typelectin. This domain contains four conserved cysteines involved in two disulphide bonds. The link domain has also been termed HABM [] (HA binding module) and PTR [] (proteoglycan tandem repeat). Proteins with such a domain include the proteoglycans aggrecan, brevican, neurocan and versican, which are expressed in the CNS; the cartilage link protein (LP), a proteoglycan that together with HA and aggrecan forms multimolecular aggregates; Tumour necrosis factor-inducible protein TSG-6, which may be involved in cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions during inflammation and tumourgenesis; and CD44 antigen, the main cell surface receptor for HA. | Short Name: | Link_dom |