Fatty acids and squalene carried by alpha fetoprotein, and fetal and adult serum albumin from chicken. Comparison with these from mammals

Fatty acids, alpha-fetoprotein, and cystic fibrosis

Docosahexaenoic acid, found lacking in animal models of cystic fibrosis, has been proposed as a dietary supplement therapy for this genetic disorder. Alpha-fetoprotein, which binds and transports docosahexaenoic acid, may be a useful marker to improve the management and follow-up in newborn screening programs for cystic fibrosis, because only 20% of such infants are diagnosed at birth.

Detection of squalene in alpha-fetoprotein and fetal serum albumin from bovine

Alpha-fetoprotein and fetal serum albumin have been simultaneously purified from fetal bovine serum by mild procedures utilizing ammonium sulfate, hydrophobic interaction, immobilized metal (nickel) affinity chromatography, and isoelectric focusing. The lipidic extract from each protein was analyzed by gas chromatography and the peak appearing just after the arachidonic acid was identified as squalene by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. This isoprenoid was not detected formerly in these proteins from human, rat, bovine, and pig. Until recently, in the analysis of the fatty acid composition of the alpha-fetoprotein and serum albumin from mammals, a peak has been assigned in the last part of the chromatographic profile, after arachidonic acid, to docosahexaenoic acid. In the present work, it was found that the peak corresponds to squalene instead of docosahexaenoic acid. Furthermore, we conclude that bovine alpha-fetoprotein and fetal serum albumin carry squalene, but not docosahexaenoic acid. These results agree with others obtained analyzing the same proteins from chick embryo.