Alpha-fetoprotein

AFP
Available structures PDB Ortholog search: PDBe RCSB List of PDB id codes 3MRK
Identifiers
Aliases	AFP, AFPD, FETA, HPalpha fetoprotein
External IDs	OMIM: 104150; MGI: 87951; HomoloGene: 36278; GeneCards: AFP; OMA:AFP - orthologs
Gene location (Human) Chr. Chromosome 4 (human)[1] Band 4q13.3 Start 73,431,138 bp[1] End 73,456,174 bp[1]
Gene location (Mouse) Chr. Chromosome 5 (mouse)[2] Band 5 E1|5 44.77 cM Start 90,638,596 bp[2] End 90,656,766 bp[2]
RNA expression pattern Bgee Human Mouse (ortholog) Top expressed in testicle gonad right lobe of liver human kidney embryo amniotic fluid metanephros right adrenal cortex ascending aorta lactiferous gland Top expressed in human fetus abdominal wall fetal liver hematopoietic progenitor cell yolk sac epithelium of small intestine atrioventricular valve internal carotid artery external carotid artery migratory enteric neural crest cell primitive streak More reference expression data BioGPS More reference expression data
Gene ontology Molecular function metal ion binding protein binding Cellular component extracellular region extracellular space cytoplasm endoplasmic reticulum lumen Biological process ovulation from ovarian follicle SMAD protein signal transduction sexual reproduction progesterone metabolic process post-translational protein modification Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs Species Human Mouse Entrez 174 11576 Ensembl ENSG00000081051 ENSMUSG00000054932 UniProt P02771 P02772 RefSeq (mRNA) NM_001134 NM_001354717 NM_007423 RefSeq (protein) NP_001125 NP_001341646 NP_031449 Location (UCSC) Chr 4: 73.43 – 73.46 Mb Chr 5: 90.64 – 90.66 Mb PubMed search [3] [4]
Wikidata
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Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP, α-fetoprotein; also sometimes called alpha-1-fetoprotein, alpha-fetoglobulin, or alpha fetal protein) is a protein^[5][6] that in humans is encoded by the AFP gene.^[7][8] The AFP gene is located on the q arm of chromosome 4 (4q13.3).^[9] Maternal AFP serum level is used to screen for Down syndrome, neural tube defects, and other chromosomal abnormalities.^[10]

AFP is a major plasma protein produced by the yolk sac and the fetal liver during fetal development. It is thought to be the fetal analog of serum albumin. AFP binds to copper, nickel, fatty acids and bilirubin^[8] and is found in monomeric, dimeric and trimeric forms.