Sandbox 43
From Proteopedia
| Please do NOT make changes to this Sandbox. Sandboxes 30-60 are reserved for use by Biochemistry 410 & 412 at Messiah College taught by Dr. Hannah Tims during Fall 2012 and Spring 2013. |
Introduction to α-lactalbumin
α-lactalbumin is a 123 residue whey protein that is only found in milk and the mammary gland and is involved in production of lactose. α-lactalbumin is produced in the endoplasmic reticulum. When it makes it way to the Golgi it encounters galactosyltransferase and other substrates necessary for lactose synthesis.[1] The complex is made up of galactosyltransferase, α-lactalbumin, nucleotide substrate, and metal ion cofactors. α-lactalbumin is a modifier protein of the lactose synthetase complex.[2] Lactose synthetase catalyzes the final step in the biosynthesis of lactose in the mammary gland by the reaction:
UDP-D-galactose + D-glucose -- lactose + UDP.[3]
α-lactalbumin is highly similar to the c-type lysozymes sharing primary, secondary and tertiary structures. It is supposed that α-lactalbumin has evolved from c-type lysozyme, however the function of α-lactalbumin is distinct from c-type lysozyme.[2]
Secondary Structure of α-lactalbumin
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| 1a4v, resolution 1.80Å () | |||||||||
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| Ligands: | |||||||||
| Activity: | Lactose synthase, with EC number 2.4.1.22 | ||||||||
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| Resources: | FirstGlance, OCA, PDBsum, RCSB | ||||||||
| Coordinates: | save as pdb, mmCIF, xml | ||||||||
