AFP | |||||||||||||||||
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Identifiers | |||||||||||||||||
Aliases | AFP, AFPD, FETA, HPalpha fetoprotein | ||||||||||||||||
External IDs | OMIM: 104150 MGI: 87951 HomoloGene: 36278 GeneCards: AFP | ||||||||||||||||
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RNA expression pattern | |||||||||||||||||
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Orthologs | |||||||||||||||||
Species | Human | Mouse | |||||||||||||||
Entrez |
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Ensembl |
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UniProt |
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RefSeq (mRNA) |
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RefSeq (protein) |
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Location (UCSC) | Chr 4: 73.43 – 73.46 Mb | Chr 5: 90.49 – 90.51 Mb | |||||||||||||||
PubMed search | |||||||||||||||||
Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP, α-fetoprotein; also sometimes called alpha-1-fetoprotein, alpha-fetoglobulin, or alpha fetal protein) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the AFP gene. The AFP gene is located on the q arm of chromosome 4 (4q25).
AFP is a major plasma protein produced by the yolk sac and the liver during fetal development. It is thought to be the fetal form of serum albumin. AFP binds to copper, nickel, fatty acids and bilirubin and is found in monomeric, dimeric and trimeric forms.