MANSC: a seven-cysteine-containing domain present in animal membrane and extracellular proteins

MANSC (motif at N terminus with seven cysteines) is a novel domain with a well-conserved seven-cysteine motif that is present at the N terminus of membrane and extracellular proteins, including low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 11 (LRP-11), hepatocyte growth factor activator inhibitor 1 (HAI-1) and some uncharacterized proteins encoded by multicellular animals from Mollusca to Chordata. We postulate that the MANSC domain in HAI-1 might function through binding with hepatocyte growth factor activator and matriptase.