Glypican 1


Glypican-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GPC1 gene.

Function

Cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans are composed of a membrane-associated protein core substituted with a variable number of heparan sulfate chains. Members of the glypican-related integral membrane proteoglycan family contain a core protein anchored to the cytoplasmic membrane via a glycosyl phosphatidylinositol linkage. These proteins may play a role in the control of cell division and growth regulation.

Interactions

Glypican 1 has been shown to interact with SLIT2.

Clinical significance

This protein is involved in the misfolding of normal prion proteins in the cell membrane to the infectious prion form.
In 2015 it was reported that the presence of this protein in exosomes in patients' blood is able to detect early pancreatic cancer with absolute specificity and sensitivity. However this conclusion is disputed. and in more recent overviews of potential markers for pancreatic cancer, Glypican 1 is not mentioned.