What Is Serum Protein?

Serum proteins (protein number 1e7i) are carriers of fatty acids in the blood. When the body needs energy or needs building materials, fat cells release fatty acids into the blood, and the fatty acids are obtained by serum proteins and transported to the required sites.

Serum protein is the most abundant protein in the plasma. Each protein molecule can carry seven fatty acid molecules. These fatty acid molecules bind in the gaps in the protein, and their carbon-rich tails are buried inside to safely avoid surrounding water molecules. Serum proteins can also carry many other water-insoluble molecules. In particular, serum proteins can carry many drug molecules, such as ibuprofen.

Because serum protein is so ubiquitous in the blood and so easily purified, it became one of the earliest proteins studied by scientists. When a protein is needed, a similar protein derived from cattle is widely used in research. This protein is called bovine serum protein or BSA. Many enzymes are unstable in dilute solutions. The solution is to add some bovine serum proteins. In the test, it can stabilize the enzyme and is relatively neutral without affecting the properties of the enzyme.

Serum proteins are carriers of fatty acids in the blood. Fatty acids are important to the body. There are two aspects: They are

Bovine serum albumin is what we often call BSA.

Laboratory introduction

Serum protein determination A clinical laboratory test item, the test specimen is venous blood serum, the reference value is 40-55 g / l, the increase is seen in dehydration, large-scale burns, high fever, acute major bleeding, chronic adrenal insufficiency, etc., and the reduction is seen in Malnutrition, dyspepsia, chronic liver disease, pernicious anemia, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, severe tuberculosis, etc. The BCG method is a routine method for the determination of serum albumin: the determination of serum albumin, globulin and their ratios is one of the commonly used biochemical tests in clinical practice. Normally, serum albumin and total protein are measured at the same time. The total protein minus albumin is the content of globulin, and the A / G ratio is calculated. The reference value range is 1.5 to 2.5 / 1. When liver function is severely reduced, albumin synthesis is reduced, and when patients with kidney disease suffer from excessive albumin loss, the A / G ratio changes can be seen. When A / G <1, it is called A / G ratio inversion. ^[1]

Electrophoresis is based on the characteristics of proteins with different molecular weights, different charges, and different isoelectric points. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, SDS-PAGE, and isoelectric focusing are common. However, it is common to separate proteins based on their molecular weights. If the protein has a large molecular weight, it will move slowly during electrophoresis and vice versa. After a period of electrophoresis, proteins with different molecular weights will be separated into different bands. ^[2]