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A glycolipid that functions as a protein modifier and has a core structure composed of a phosphatidylinositol (PI) bound, through a carbohydrate linker comprised of glucosamine and three mannose residues, to an ethanolamine phosphate (EtNP), which can be covalently linked to the carboxy-terminal amino acid of the modified protein. Glycosylphosphatidylinositol moieties anchor extracellular proteins to the cell surface by insertion of the PI fatty acid chains into the membrane bilayer.
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