Novel insights into the function of the conserved domain of the CAP superfamily of proteins

Abstract

Members of the Cysteine-rich secretory proteins, Antigen 5, and Pathogenesis-related 1 proteins (CAP) superfamily are found in a remarkable variety of biological species. The presence of a highly conserved CAP domain defines the CAP family members, which in many cases is linked to other functional protein domains. As a result, this superfamily of proteins is involved in a large variety of biological processes such as reproduction, tumor suppression, and immune regulation. The role of the CAP domain and its conserved structure throughout evolution in relation to the diverse functions of CAP proteins is, however, poorly understood. Recent studies on the mammalian Golgi-Associated plant Pathogenesis Related protein 1 (GAPR-1), which consists almost exclusively of a CAP domain, may shed new light on the function of the CAP domain. GAPR-1 was shown to form amyloid fibrils but also to possess anti-amyloidogenic properties against other amyloid forming peptides. Amyloid prediction analysis reveals the presence of potentially amyloidogenic sequences within the highly conserved sequence motifs of the CAP domain. This review will address the structural properties of GAPR-1 in combination with existing knowledge on CAP protein structure-function relationships. We propose that the CAP domain is a structural domain, which can regulate protein-protein interactions of CAP family members using its amyloidogenic properties.