CD36
CD36 (cluster of differentiation 36), also known as platelet glycoprotein 4, fatty acid translocase (FAT), scavenger receptor class B member 3 (SCARB3), and glycoproteins 88 (GP88), IIIb (GPIIIB), or IV (GPIV) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CD36 gene. The CD36 antigen is an integral membrane protein found on the surface of many cell types in vertebrate animals. It imports fatty acids inside cells and is a member of the class B scavenger receptor family of cell surface proteins. CD36 binds many ligands including collagen, thrombospondin, erythrocytes parasitized with Plasmodium falciparum, oxidized low density lipoprotein, native lipoproteins, oxidized phospholipids, and long-chain fatty acids.
Work in genetically modified rodents suggest a role for CD36 in fatty acid metabolism, heart disease, taste, and dietary fat processing in the intestine. It may be involved in glucose intolerance, atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension, diabetes, cardiomyopathy, Alzheimer's disease and various cancers, mostly of epithelial origin (breast, prostate, ovary, and colon) and also for hepatic carcinoma and gliomas.