Description
Product Characteristics: Prealbumin, also designated transthyretin, is a major thyroid-hormone binding protein involved in transporting thyroxine from the bloodstream to the brain. Prealbumin is located in the cytoplasm and in the vesicles of developing rat brain cells, and is thought to be transported there from the cerebrospinal fluid via endocytosis. Sequence variants of this protein have been identified in amyloid fibrils from patients with familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP), the most common form of hereditary systemic amyloidosis. Although the biologically active form of Prealbumin is a tetramer, the amyloidogenic intermediate is thought to be a monomeric species. Prealbumin also binds to the retinol carrier protein RBP (retinol-binding protein).
Target Information: This gene encodes transthyretin, one of the three prealbumins including alpha-1-antitrypsin, transthyretin and orosomucoid. Transthyretin is a carrier protein\, it transports thyroid hormones in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid, and also transports retinol (vitamin A) in the plasma. The protein consists of a tetramer of identical subunits. More than 80 different mutations in this gene have been reported\, most mutations are related to amyloid deposition, affecting predominantly peripheral nerve and/or the heart, and a small portion of the gene mutations is non-amyloidogenic. The diseases caused by mutations include amyloidotic polyneuropathy, euthyroid hyperthyroxinaemia, amyloidotic vitreous opacities, cardiomyopathy, oculoleptomeningeal amyloidosis, meningocerebrovascular amyloidosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, etc. [provided by RefSeq, Jan 2009]