Biomaterial Database

Interaction of retinoids and bilirubin with the binding of arachidonic acid to human alpha-fetoprotein. 1984

C Aussel, and R Masseyeff

Human alpha-fetoprotein (HAFP) has three binding sites for polyunsaturated fatty acids with association constant Ka = 1.8 X 10(7) M-1. One of these binding sites overlaps with a retinoid binding site with Ka = 2.6 X 10(6)M-1. Competition experiments with bilirubin showed that this compound does not compete neither with fatty acids nor with retinoids. Thus, the two bilirubin binding sites previously demonstrated appear as two additional binding sites on HAFP. Nevertheless, the close proximity of two fatty acid binding sites and two bilirubin binding sites resulted in a modification of the binding constants for fatty acids. It is hypothesised that the binding properties of HAFP reflect the three domain structures of the protein recently deduced from the study of the nucleotide sequence of HAFP mRNA and AFPcDNA segments.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007700	Kinetics	The rate dynamics in chemical or physical systems.
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D011485	Protein Binding	The process in which substances, either endogenous or exogenous, bind to proteins, peptides, enzymes, protein precursors, or allied compounds. Specific protein-binding measures are often used as assays in diagnostic assessments.	Plasma Protein Binding Capacity,Binding, Protein
D005260	Female		Females
D005333	Fetus	The unborn young of a viviparous mammal, in the postembryonic period, after the major structures have been outlined. In humans, the unborn young from the end of the eighth week after CONCEPTION until BIRTH, as distinguished from the earlier EMBRYO, MAMMALIAN.	Fetal Structures,Fetal Tissue,Fetuses,Mummified Fetus,Retained Fetus,Fetal Structure,Fetal Tissues,Fetus, Mummified,Fetus, Retained,Structure, Fetal,Structures, Fetal,Tissue, Fetal,Tissues, Fetal
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000509	alpha-Fetoproteins	The first alpha-globulins to appear in mammalian sera during FETAL DEVELOPMENT and the dominant serum proteins in early embryonic life.	alpha-Fetoprotein,alpha Fetoprotein,alpha Fetoproteins
D001095	Arachidonic Acids		Eicosatetraenoic Acids,Acids, Arachidonic,Acids, Eicosatetraenoic
D001663	Bilirubin	A bile pigment that is a degradation product of HEME.	Bilirubin IX alpha,Bilirubin, (15E)-Isomer,Bilirubin, (4E)-Isomer,Bilirubin, (4E,15E)-Isomer,Bilirubin, Calcium Salt,Bilirubin, Disodium Salt,Bilirubin, Monosodium Salt,Calcium Bilirubinate,Hematoidin,delta-Bilirubin,Bilirubinate, Calcium,Calcium Salt Bilirubin,Disodium Salt Bilirubin,Monosodium Salt Bilirubin,Salt Bilirubin, Calcium,delta Bilirubin
D001667	Binding, Competitive	The interaction of two or more substrates or ligands with the same binding site. The displacement of one by the other is used in quantitative and selective affinity measurements.	Competitive Binding