A variety of GPI-linked cell-surface glycoproteins are composed of one or more copies of a conserved LU domain of about 100 amino-acid residues. Among these proteins, most contain only a single LU domain, though small numbers of exceptions are known; well-studied family member uPAR has three tandem LU domains.
Many LU domain containing proteins are involved in cholinergic signaling and bind acetylcholine receptors, notably linking their function to a common mechanism of 3FTx toxicity. Members of the Ly6/uPAR family are believed to be the evolutionary ancestors of the three-finger toxin (3FTx). Other LU proteins, such as the CD59 antigen, have well-studied functions in regulation of the immune system.
↑Greenwald J, Fischer WH, Vale WW, Choe S (January 1999). "Three-finger toxin fold for the extracellular ligand-binding domain of the type II activin receptor serine kinase". Nature Structural Biology. 6 (1): 18–22. doi:10.1038/4887. PMID9886286. S2CID26301441.