Summary
CD36, also known as GPIIIb or GPIV, is a main protein of the platelet membrane. Accumulating
evidence implicates CD36 in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. CD36 binds to cholesteryl-hemisuccinate
coupled to agarose. This binding may be of physiologic relevance since CD36 has a
long extracellular hydrophobic region at its N-terminus and belongs to a family of
proteins involved in lipid metabolism. This newly discovered binding property of CD36
was used to develop a rapid, efficient and gentle two-step purification method for
CD36 from human platelets.