Fetuin

X-ray picture of a Fetuin-A knockout mouse (-/-) compared to a wildtype mouse (+/+). The bright dots in the fetuin-A deficient mouse indicate calcified lesions throughout the body.

Fetuins are blood proteins that are made in the liver and secreted into the bloodstream. They belong to a large group of binding proteins mediating the transport and availability of a wide variety of cargo substances in the bloodstream.[1] Fetuin-A is a major carrier protein of free fatty acids in the circulation.[1] The best known representative of carrier proteins is serum albumin,[citation needed] the most abundant protein in the blood plasma of adult animals. Fetuin is more abundant in fetal blood, hence the name "fetuin" (from Latin, fetus). Fetal bovine serum contains more fetuin than albumin, while adult serum contains more albumin than fetuin.

  1. ^ a b Pal D, Dasgupta S, Kundu R, Maitra S, Das G, Mukhopadhyay S, Ray S, Majumdar SS, Bhattacharya S (2012). "Fetuin-A acts as an endogenous ligand of TLR4 to promote lipid-induced insulin resistance" (PDF). Nature Medicine. 18 (8): 1279–1285. doi:10.1038/nm.2851. PMID 22842477. S2CID 888828. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-09-07. Retrieved 2018-09-07.