Fetuin ‐ an old friend revisited

W. M. Brown, K. M. Dziegielewska, N. R. Saunders, K. Møsllgård

doi:10.1002/bies.950141105

Fetuin ‐ an old friend revisited

DOI Web Site Web Site 被引用文献6件

抄録

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Bovine fetuin, the first fetal protein to be described, has recently been shown to be a species homologue of a well known human plasma protein ‐ α<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>HS glycoprotein (α<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>HS). The fetuins are now known to be members of the cystatin superfamily. The structural properties of the six fetuins that have been fully sequenced are compared. Despite the structural homology of these proteins, their described properties in the literature make them appear to be quite different. The diverse <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic> properties claimed for fetuin/α<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>HS are reviewed. <jats:italic>In vivo</jats:italic>, fetuins are involved in the acute phase response. In development, in all species studied so far, fetuins are present in a specific cell population that forms the developing neocortex. The possible functional significance of this distribution is discussed.</jats:p>