CD87

The Urokinase receptor, also known as uPA receptor or uPAR or CD87 (Cluster of Differentiation 87), is multidomain glycoprotein tethered to the cell membrane with a glycosylphosphotidylinositol (GPI) anchor. uPAR was originally identified as a saturable binding site for urokinase on the cell surface. 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 a peptide antagonist and with its native ligand, urokinase.