The PAW domain is found at the C-terminus of PGNase, or peptide-N-glycanase, enzymes. It was named for 'domain present in PNGases and other worm proteins' [1]. PNGase catalyses the deglycosylation of several misfolded N-linked glycoproteins by cleaving off the bulky glycan chain before these proteins are degraded by the proteasome. PNGase specifically acts on the unfolded form of high-mannose type N-glycosylated proteins, and this domain appears to be the mannose-binding domain, which contributes to the oligosaccharide-binding specificity of PNGase [2].

1: Systematic identification of novel protein domain families associated with nuclear functions. Doerks T, Copley RR, Schultz J, Ponting CP, Bork P; Genome Res 2002;12:47-56. PMID:11779830

2: Structural and biochemical studies of the C-terminal domain of mouse peptide-N-glycanase identify it as a mannose-binding module. Zhou X, Zhao G, Truglio JJ, Wang L, Li G, Lennarz WJ, Schindelin H; Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006;103:17214-17219. PMID:17088551