Molecular Characteristics
uPAR consists of three different domains of the Ly-6/uPAR/alpha-neurotoxin family. All three domains are necessary for high affinity binding of the primary ligand, urokinase. It has been possible to express uPAR recombinantly in CHO-cells and S2 cells from Drosophila melanogaster. 4 out of 5 of the possible glycosylation sites are used in vivo giving the protein a molecular weight of 50-60 kDA. Recently the structure of uPAR was solved by X-ray crystallography in complex with an peptide antagonist and with its native ligand, urokinase.
Besides the primary ligand urokinase, uPAR interacts with several other proteins, among others: vitronectin, the uPAR associated protein (uPARAP) and the integrin family of membrane proteins.
Read more about this topic: Urokinase Receptor