Alpha Fetoprotein (AFP)

Tumor markers include alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), Golgi protein (GP73), and glycan antigen 242/72-4 (CA242/72-4). Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), the earliest identified liver cancer marker, is a single-chain glycoprotein belonging to the albumin family with a molecular weight of about 70 kDa, and is mainly synthesized by fetal hepatocytes and the yolk sac. As a tumor-associated embryo-specific alpha-globulin, it is used clinically as a marker for detecting fetal defects and tumorigenesis, and is one of the important methods for diagnosing primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

As a supplier of raw materials for in vitro diagnostics, KMD Bioscience is committed to the rapid development and large-scale production of proteins and antibodies for in vitro diagnostics, and establishes stable cell line construction and screening, natural protein extraction and fermentation, recombinant protein customized expression services, and multi-species antibody discovery platform. Based on the above platforms, KMD Bioscience successfully develops many recombinant proteins, antibodies, antibody drug target proteins, industrial enzymes, diagnostic raw materials and other related reagents for scientific research and new drug discovery. KMD Bioscience adheres to independent innovation and breakthroughs in key technologies, and has successively obtained the national patent pilot unit and laboratory ISO9001:2015 quality management system certification and adheres to the continuous optimization to effectively ensure the quality stability of the products in the production process and final delivery. All antibodies supplied by KMD Bioscience are rigorously tested to ensure their purity and sensitivity for use in a variety of different diagnostic platforms, such as LFIA, ELISA, CLIA, POCT, and so on.

The inventory of reagents associated with AFP that KMD Bioscience can offer:

Molecular structure of AFP:

The AFP gene is approximately 20 kbp in size and consists of 15 introns and 14 exons containing 590 amino acids, of which 19 amino acids at the N-terminal end are signal peptide sequences.AFP is classified in the albumin gene superfamily, which is structurally characterized by cysteine amino acid residues that are bound by disulfide bonds, which are folded inward into a ring to form a U-shaped, 3-level structural domain. The structure of this family is characterized by cysteine amino acid residues, which are bound by disulfide bonds and folded into a ring, forming a U-shaped 3-level domain. Full sequence analysis showed that the third domain contains a heterodimerization motif, which is a leucine zipper-like structure composed of several consecutive hydrophobic amino acids.

Figure 1 Schematic diagram of AFP molecular structure

Biological functions of AFP

1. As a tumor marker

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is one of the tumor markers discovered earlier by human beings, and the expression level of AFP in the body can be used as a specific biomarker for the diagnosis of primary liver cancer. Specifically, an increase in the concentration of AFP means an increase in the likelihood of developing liver cancer. When liver cancer occurs in the body, AFP reacts with macrophages, decreases their phagocytic activity and surface antigen expression, inhibits the immune activity of natural killer cells, and reduces the proliferation of T lymphocytes.

2.Promote the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells and mechanism

Through binding to AFP receptor, activation of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, stimulation of oncogene protein and dysfunction of PTEN oncogene protein, AFP not only accelerates the value-added of hepatocellular carcinoma cells, but also inhibits the immune response to the tumor in the organism, and it protects the cancer cells from apoptosis and inhibits apoptosis signal transduction mediated by caspase3. AFP reacts with caspase3, blocking caspase signaling, inhibiting the secretion of cytokines by lymphocytes, reducing the attack on hepatocellular carcinoma cells, thus blocking caspase-mediated apoptosis signaling and promoting the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

KMD Bioscience independently develops and produces alpha-fetoprotein products, by immunizing mice with AFP antigen to obtain mouse anti-human AFP monoclonal antibody (detection) and (capture), with high specificity and small batch-to-batch variation, to support researchers to conduct research on the activity of the HBP protein target and protein interaction studies. And it can be applied to lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA), chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). KMD Bioscience offers a diverse range of protein products, including recombinant proteins, viral proteins and bacterial proteins, etc. All the protein products provided have undergone rigorous QC validation and are characterized by low endotoxin content and high purity. With an experienced R&D team and mature quality management system, the platform can provide customized services according to customers' R&D needs, from gene sequence design, protein expression host selection, to monoclonal antibody production in every R&D process, to meet the needs of diagnostic raw material development, scientific research and other different applications.