Phospholipid Scramblase 5 (PLSCR5)

Scramblase is a protein responsible for the translocation of phospholipids between the two monolayers of a lipid bilayer of a cell membrane. In humans, phospholipid scramblases (PLSCRs) constitute a family of five homologous proteins that are named as hPLSCR1–hPLSCR5. Scramblases are members of the general family of transmembrane lipid transporters known as flippases. Whereas hPLSCR1, -3, and -4 are expressed in a variety of tissues with few exceptions, expression of hPLSCR2 is restricted only to the testis. hPLSCR4 is not expressed in peripheral blood lymphocytes, whereas hPLSCR1 and -3 were not detected in the brain. However, the functional significance of this differential gene expression is not yet understood. While the gene and the mRNA of hPLSCR5 provide evidence of its existence, the protein has yet to be described in the literature.