In Search of the Role of Three-Finger Starfish Proteins.

Three-finger proteins (TFPs), or Ly6/uPAR proteins, are characterized by the beta-structural LU domain containing three protruding "fingers" and stabilized by four conserved disulfide bonds. TFPs were initially characterized as snake alpha-neurotoxins, but later many studies showed their regulatory roles in different organisms. Despite a known expression of TFPs in vertebrates, they are poorly studied in other taxa.