STRUCTURAL SIMILARITIES BETWEEN MYELIN AND HYDROPHOBIC SURFACTANT-ASSOCIATED PROTEINS - PROTEIN MOTIFS FOR INTERACTING WITH BILAYERS

A group of predicted structural similarities exist between the hydroph obic pulmonary surfactant protein SP-B and SP-C and the hydrophobic pr oteins of myelin, either the myelin basic protein and the proteolipid protein of central nervous system myelin, or the P-0 protein of periph eral myelin. These similarities include, among other factors, the char ge density, post-translational modification by fatty acids, some poten tial periodicity in primary structure and an overall hydrophobicity. T he similarities suggest that these proteins might have similar means o f interacting with each other and with lipid bilayers in their respect ive biological systems.