Creative Biolabs is a world-leading service provider focusing on antibody discovery and development for research, diagnostic, and therapeutic applications. Now, we introduce our high-quality IVD (in vitro diagnostic) antibody and immunoassay development services to global clients. Our services target a wide range of disease biomarkers with diagnostic or prognostic potential, such as alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) biomarker of cancers.
AFP is a main plasma protein as well as a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of approximately 70 kDa. In humans, it is encoded by the AFP gene located on chromosome 4q25. It is produced by the yolk sac and the fetal liver during fetal development. Usually, the plasma level of AFP decreased rapidly after birth. The function of AFP in adults remains unclear. It can bind and transport estrogen, retinoid, steroid, heavy metals, and dioxins. Moreover, it can inhibit natural killer (NK) cells and interact with macrophage. It has been discussed that AFP may play an important role in the regulation of cell proliferation and tumor growth. Elevation of serum AFP to abnormally high values occurs in different malignant diseases.
Fig.1 Mechanisms of AFP promoting the growth of cancer cells.3
Elevated levels of AFP have proved to be a biomarker for the diagnosis of different tumors and cancers such as hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC), testicular, gastric, and colorectal cancers. Zhang et al. (2020) reviewed the use of AFP for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. The concluded that AFP levels in serum showed good accuracy in HCC diagnosis and the threshold of AFP with 400 ng/mL was better than that of 200 ng/mL in terms of sensitivity and specificity. As indicated in other studies, for patients with chronic liver disease, a sustained increase in AFP serum level was one of the risk factors of HCC and has been used to help identify high-risk subgroups of chronic liver disease. In patients with liver cirrhosis, fluctuations in AFP levels may reflect the sudden onset of viral hepatitis, the deterioration of potential liver disease, or the development of HCC. For gastric cancers, AFP was found to have great predictive and prognostic value for AFP-producing gastric cancer (AFP-GC), which constitutes about 2.7% to 8% of all gastric cancers. Besides, it is reported that over 60% of the 1500 patients had elevated AFP levels, making it the most commonly elevated tumor marker in testicular cancer.
AFP has been reported as a useful biomarker for different cancer diagnosis or prognosis. Immunoassays targeting this biomarker can be developed to help improve clinical diagnoses. Creative Biolabs has extensive experience in the whole process of diagnostic kit and method development. We offer expertise in antigen design, antibody generation, recombinant protein expression, antibody conjugation, and a wide range of immunodiagnostic technology platforms. We offer a full start to finish service, including but not limited to:
Please feel free to contact us for more information and discuss your project needs.
References
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