URRENT CONCEPT OF THE STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF ALFA-FETOPROTEIN AND THE POSSIBILITIES OF ITS CLINICAL APPLICATION

O K Gulevskyy

doi:10.15407/biotech14.01.025

Abstract

This paper was aimed to review the literature data from native and foreign sources accumulated for 40-years period of research of the features of the molecular structure, functions, production and application of human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), which is known as one of the most studied and increasingly demanded proteins. Results of fundamental studies performed with the use of modern methods, including various types of electrophoresis, chromatography, electron microscopy and immunoassay, in order to characterize the principal physicochemical capacities and localization of free and bound forms of AFP, as well as polypeptide structure, heterogeneity and topography of AFP receptors are highlighted here. The data on the mechanisms of AFP synthesis, its conformational features, binding sites and intracellular metabolism are also presented. The concepts of physiological functions and mechanisms of AFP transport in an organism are presented. Data on AFP isolation from the natural primary products and its production by means of recombinant and synthetic methods are shown. This review also summarizes information on the current possibilities of clinical application of AFP and the prospects for its usage in anticancer therapy for targeted delivery of chemotherapy drugs, with emphasis on the description of the recent progress in this field.

Highlights

This paper was aimed to review the literature data from native and foreign sources accumulated for 40-years period of research of the features of the molecular structure, functions, production and application of human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), which is known as one of the most studied and increasingly demanded proteins
This review summarizes information on the current possibilities of clinical application of AFP and the prospects for its usage in anticancer therapy for targeted delivery of chemotherapy drugs, with emphasis on the description of the recent progress in this field
When studying the levels and sites of AFP localization, it was found that it is present in all organs and tissues of the human fetus, in the blood serum of pregnant women and newborns, as well as in the tissues of the placenta, amniotic fluid and cord blood [5, 6]

Summary

Introduction

Due to the fact that AFP belongs to the class of transport proteins, a significant proportion of it, both in serum and in tissues and cells, is in a bound state, i.e. in the form of complexes with transported ligands and/ or with receptor molecules. The antiproliferative effect of this protein was studied in the works of the 70s–80s.The authors note the dependence of the effect on the AFP dose, purification degree, type of the cells and medium composition [15].

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Conclusion