Lipocalin 15 (LCN15)

LCN15, Belongs to the calycin superfamily. Lipocalin family. The lipocalin superfamily consists of small secretory ligand-binding proteins that are identified in many organisms including vertebrates, insects and plants, and recently in bacteria. Despite low sequence homology, members of this family exploit a highly-conserved structural core of an 8-stranded antiparallel barrel that forms a cup-shaped hydrophobic cavity ("calyx"), surrounded at the cavity entrance by four surface-exposed loops. They can bind a diverse range of lipids with long alkyl chains, charged groups, and polycyclic structures, and hence play an important biological role in the transport and storage of hydrophobic compounds such as lipids, vitamins, steroids and metabolites. LCN15, an unannotated member of the lipocalin family, at 1.63 Å resolution.