Glypican 1

Cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans are composed of a membrane-associated protein core substituted with three heparan sulfate chains.[7] Members of the glypican-related integral membrane proteoglycan family (GRIPS) contain a core protein anchored to the cytoplasmic membrane via a glycosyl phosphatidylinositol linkage. These proteins may play a role in the control of cell division and growth regulation.[6]

Glypican 1 has been shown to interact with SLIT2.[8]

This protein is involved in the misfolding of normal prion proteins in the cell membrane to the infectious prion form.[9]

In 2015 it was reported that the presence of this protein in exosomes in patients' blood is able to detect early pancreatic cancer with absolute specificity and sensitivity.[10] However this conclusion is disputed.[11] and in more recent overviews of potential markers for pancreatic cancer, Glypican 1 is not mentioned.[12][13]

Antibodies against GPC1 have been developed.[14][15][16][17] GPC1 has been evaluated as a potential target for cancer therapy,[7] including antibody-drug conjugates,[18] CAR-T cell therapy,[16][15][17] radiotherapy,[19] bispecific T cell engager[20] and immunotoxins[14] in preclinical studies.  HM2 is a mouse monoclonal antibody targeting the C-terminal region of GPC1 developed by the laboratory of Dr. Mitchell Ho at the NIH (Bethesda, US).[17] The Ho lab has also isolated a dromedary camel V_HH nanobody called D4 specific for GPC1.[17]The D4 V_HH nanobody-based CAR-T cells[17] and immunotoxins[14] were tested for their efficacy in mice bearing human pancreatic cancer.

• Glypican