Scavenger receptor (immunology)

Brown and Goldstein, with the defining property being the ability to bind and remove modified low density lipoproteins (LDL).

[1] Today scavenger receptors are known to be involved in a wide range of processes, such as: homeostasis, apoptosis, inflammatory diseases and pathogen clearance.

In atherosclerotic lesions, macrophages that express scavenger receptors on their plasma membrane take up the oxidized LDL deposited in the blood vessel wall aggressively, and develop into foam cells.

Other ligands include: β-amyloid, heat shock proteins, surface molecules of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, hepatitis C virus.

SR-A1 can be alternatively spliced to generate a truncation at the C-terminus; it is contained within the Endoplasmatic Reticulum, and just like the unspliced version, has a strong affinity for polyanionic ligand binding.

Schematic collection of the scavenger receptor superfamily. Classes A-J are displayed with their respective domains. All classes have a mammalian orthologue, with the exception of C.