CD36 Products

Originally discovered in platelets, cluster of differentiation 36, CD36, (also known as thrombospondin receptor, fatty acid translocase (FAT), platelet membrane glycoprotein IV (GPIV), and scavenger receptor class B, member 3 (SR-B3)) is a plasma membrane glycoprotein belonging to the class B scavenger receptor family (1,2). Human, mouse, and rat CD36 is synthesized as a 472 amino acid (a.a.) protein with a theoretical molecular weight of 53 kDa for the canonical isoform (3). Its domains include a short cytoplasmic tail at the N-terminal and C-terminal and a large extracellular loop flanked on each side by a transmembrane domain. The extracellular domain facilitates the update of fatty acids (FFAs), phospholipids, and cholesterol by forming two hydrophobic cavities, which was first modeled in the CD36 homologue, LIMP-2/ SCARB2 (4).

The expression of CD36 has been reported in platelets, erythrocytes, monocytes, differentiated adipocytes, skeletal muscle, mammary epithelial cells, spleen cells, some skin microdermal endothelial cells, and in cancer. Circulating levels of soluble CD36 (sCD36) has also been reported in chronic inflammatory disease such as type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. CD36 participates in angiogenesis, innate immunity, and the clearance of apoptotic phagocytes. In lipid metabolism, CD36 functions as a macrophage receptor for oxidized LDL and as an adipocyte receptor/transporter for long-chain FFAs. Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria, binds CD36 via PfEMP1 proteins, tethering parasite-infected erythrocytes to endothelial receptors (5). Anti-CD36 isoantibodies have been detected in Type 1 CD36-deficient mothers and is implicated as the cause of fetal/neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (6).

References

1) Febbraio, M., Hajjar, D. P., & Silverstein, R. L. (2001). CD36: a class B scavenger receptor involved in angiogenesis, atherosclerosis, inflammation, and lipid metabolism. The Journal of clinical investigation, 108(6), 785-791. PMID: 11560944

2) Silverstein RL, Febbraio M. (2000) CD36 and atherosclerosis. Curr Opin Lipidol. 2000 11(5):483-91. PMID: 11048891.

3) Endemann G, Stanton LW, Madden KS, Bryant CM, White RT, Protter AA. (1993) CD36 is a receptor for oxidized low density lipoprotein. J Biol Chem. 268(16):11811-6. PMID: 7685021.

4) Wang, J., & Li, Y. (2019). CD36 tango in cancer: signaling pathways and functions. Theranostics, 9(17), 4893-4908. PMID: 31410189

5) Hsieh FL, Turner L, Bolla JR, Robinson CV, Lavstsen T, Higgins MK. (2016) The structural basis for CD36 binding by the malaria parasite. Nat Commun. 7:12837. PMID: 27667267

6) Gruarin P, Ulliers D, Thorne RF, Alessio M. (2000) Methionine 156 in the immunodominant domain of CD36 contributes to define the epitope recognized by the NL07 MoAb. Mol Cell Biochem 214, 115-121. PMID: 11195795.