Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 18, 2026

ULBP3

UL16 binding protein 3 (ULBP3) is a cell surface glycoprotein encoded by ULBP3 gene located on the chromosome 6. ULBP3 is related to MHC class I molecules, but its gene maps outside the MHC locus. The domain structure of ULBP3 differs significantly from those of conventional MHC class I molecules. It does not contain the α3 domain and the transmembrane segment. ULBP3 is thus composed of only the α1α2 domain which is linked to the cell membrane by the GPI anchor. It functions as a stress-induced ligand for NKG2D receptor.

Last revised
Jul 18, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
529 w
Citations
11
Source
ULBP3
Available structures
PDBHuman UniProt search: PDBe RCSB
Identifiers
AliasesULBP3, RAET1N, N2DL-3, NKG2DL3, UL16 binding protein 3
External IDsOMIM: 605699; HomoloGene: 129737; GeneCards: ULBP3; OMA:ULBP3 - orthologs
Orthologs
SpeciesHumanMouse
Entrez
Ensembl
UniProt
RefSeq (mRNA)

NM_024518

n/a

RefSeq (protein)

NP_078794

n/a

Location (UCSC)Chr 6: 150.06 – 150.07 Mbn/a
PubMed search2n/a
Wikidata
View/Edit Human

UL16 binding protein 3 (ULBP3) is a cell surface glycoprotein encoded by ULBP3 gene located on the chromosome 6.34 ULBP3 is related to MHC class I molecules, but its gene maps outside the MHC locus.34 The domain structure of ULBP3 differs significantly from those of conventional MHC class I molecules. It does not contain the α3 domain and the transmembrane segment. ULBP3 is thus composed of only the α1α2 domain which is linked to the cell membrane by the GPI anchor.34 It functions as a stress-induced ligand for NKG2D receptor.3

References

References

  1. GRCh38: Ensembl release 89: ENSG00000131019Ensembl, May 2017
  2. "Human PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
  3. Cosman D, Müllberg J, Sutherland CL, Chin W, Armitage R, Fanslow W, Kubin M, Chalupny NJ (Feb 2001). "ULBPs, novel MHC class I-related molecules, bind to CMV glycoprotein UL16 and stimulate NK cytotoxicity through the NKG2D receptor". Immunity. 14 (2): 123–33. doi:10.1016/S1074-7613(01)00095-4. PMID 11239445.
  4. Radosavljevic M, Cuillerier B, Wilson MJ, Clément O, Wicker S, Gilfillan S, Beck S, Trowsdale J, Bahram S (Jan 2002). "A cluster of ten novel MHC class I related genes on human chromosome 6q24.2-q25.3". Genomics. 79 (1): 114–23. doi:10.1006/geno.2001.6673. PMID 11827464.
Further reading

Further reading