PMID: 2480956Dec 25, 1989Paper

The vitamin D-binding protein, alpha-fetoprotein, albumin multigene family: detection of transcripts in multiple tissues.

The Journal of Biological Chemistry
J F McLeod, N E Cooke

Abstract

The serum vitamin D-binding protein (DBP), a member of a multigene family that includes alpha-fetoprotein (alpha FP) and albumin (ALB), is expressed at high levels in the adult liver. Although several studies have demonstrated the presence of DBP on the cell surface of immunocytes and cytotrophoblasts, evidence of extra-hepatic DBP synthesis remains inconclusive. Using Northern blot analysis of RNA from multiple rat tissues, the DBP transcripts were present in the expected high levels in the adult liver. In addition, DBP mRNA was found in the adult kidney, testis, abdominal fat, and 18-day fetal yolk sac. The concentrations of DBP mRNA in these tissues is 100-1000-fold less than in the liver. Polymerase chain reaction amplification (PCR) of DBP, alpha FP, and ALB cDNAs, reverse transcribed from a wide variety of rat tissue RNA samples, was performed to examine their respective tissue-specific patterns of gene transcripts. The tissues in which DBP gene transcripts were noted by Northern analysis were paralleled at 20 cycles of PCR with liver much greater than kidney, yolk sac, testis, and abdominal fat. Similarly at 20 cycles, alpha FP-amplified fragments were detected in the yolk sac much greater than brain, testes, uterus, liv...Continue Reading

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