α-Lactalbumin

The Uses of α-Lactalbumin

α-Lactalbumin was used in the isolation and analysis of restriction endonuclease digestive patterns of chromosomal DNA from Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and other Mycobacterium species. 1 It was also used in a study to test if the neuroendocrine protein 7B2 suppresses the aggregation of neurodegenerative disease-related proteins.

The Uses of α-Lactalbumin

α-Lactalbumin from bovine milk has been used as a supplement of basal medium for various cell cultures. It has also been used as a marker for sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE).

General Description

α-Lactalbumin is a small, globular, whey protein that has been found in all milk studied to date. It is a metalloprotein of approximately 14 kDa produced in the mammary glands.

Biochem/physiol Actions

Alters the substrate specificity of galactosyltransferase to increase the rate of lactose formation; the complex of galactosyltransferase and α-lactalbumin is called lactose synthase. Complexes of α-lactalbumin with oleic acid show drastically different activities than α-lactalbumin alone, being strongly cytotoxic to tumor cells. The complex is referred to as HAMLET (human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells).