PANP is a novel O-glycosylated PILRα ligand expressed in neural tissues.

PILRα is an immune inhibitory receptor possessing an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM) in its cytoplasmic domain enabling it to deliver inhibitory signals. Binding of PILRα to its ligand CD99 is involved in immune regulation; however, whether there are other PILRα ligands in addition to CD99 is not known. Here, we report that a novel molecule, PILR-associating neural protein (PANP), acts as an additional ligand for PILRα. Transcription of PANP was mainly observed in neural tissues. PILRα-Ig fusion protein bound cells transfected with PANP and the transfectants stimulated PILRα reporter cells. Specific O-glycan structures on PANP were found to be required for PILR recognition of this ligand. These results suggest that PANP is involved in immune regulation as a ligand of the PILRα.