Chemistry and biology of glycosylphosphatidylinositol molecules

Discovery of glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPIs) as an alternative mode of anchoring of cell-surface proteins to the plasma membrane has led to significant advances in our understanding of cell and membrane biology in last two decades, providing a new view of the eukaryotic plasma membrane organization and function. Since the first reports of GPI anchors from the African trypanosomes and mammalian brain, a number of GPIs have been isolated across the eukaryotic species, particularly from the parasitic protozoa and humans, representing the most complex and biosynthetically expensive post-translational modification in the cell. In this article, we describe our contributions on chemistry and biology of GPI molecules, particularly on lipophosphoglycan, in the context of the fascinating field of GPI biology.