albumin (ALB)
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Function
- albumin binds 45% of plasma Ca+2
- albumin accounts for 80% of plasma colloid oncotic pressure
- good binding capacity for water, Ca+2, Na+, K+, fatty acids, hormones, bilirubin & drugs
- major Zn+2 transporter in plasma
- typically binds about 80% of all plasma Zn+2
- also binds Cu+2
- phosphorylation sites are present in the extracellular medium
- acetylated on Lys-223 by acetylsalicylic acid
Structure
- belongs to the ALB/AFP/VDB family
- contains 3 albumin domains
Compartment
- 30-40% of albumin is found within the intravascular space (plasma)
- 60% is found in the interstitial space
Alternative splicing
named isoforms=2
Expression
- albumin is the most abundant protein in human plasma
- it constitutes 55-65% of total plasma protein
- normally 50% of hepatic protein synthesis is that of albumin with 100-200 mg/kg produced per day
- the liver may produce as much as 30 g of albumin/day
Pathology
- low levels of albumin occur, along with low levels of transferrin, prealbumin, & beta-lipoprotein, in inflammation & malignancy
- glycated in patients with diabetes mellitus
- defects in ALB are a cause of familial dysalbuminemic hyperthyroxinemia
Polymorphism
- a variant structure of albumin could lead to increased binding of Zn+2 resulting in an asymptomatic augmentation of Zn+2 concentration in the blood
Pharmacology
Laboratory
- albumin in specimen
More general terms
Additional terms
- albumin for transfusion (Albuminar)
- albumin in body fluid
- albumin in serum/plasma
- albumin/creatinine in urine
- glycated albumin (fructosamine) in serum
- SAFE study
Component of
References
- ↑ Fundamentals of Clinical Chemistry 3rd ed., N.W. Teitz ed., W.B. Saunders, 1988, pg 328
- ↑ Drug Information & Medication Formulary, Veterans Affairs, Central California Health Care System, 1st ed., Ravnan et al eds, 1998
- ↑ UniProt http://www.uniprot.org/uniprot/P02768.html
- ↑ Albumin Website http://www.albumin.org
- ↑ Wikipedia; Note: serum albumin entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/serum_albumin
- ↑ GeneReviews http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/genetests/lab/gene/ALB
- ↑ SeattleSNPs http://pga.gs.washington.edu/data/alb/