Recombinant Human Alpha-lactalbumin (LALBA)

Uniprot Id

P00709

Target Species

Human

Target Name

LALBA

Target Full Name

Alpha-lactalbumin

Target Function

Regulatory subunit of lactose synthase, changes the substrate specificity of galactosyltransferase in the mammary gland making glucose a good acceptor substrate for this enzyme. This enables LS to synthesize lactose, the major carbohydrate component of milk. In other tissues, galactosyltransferase transfers galactose onto the N-acetylglucosamine of the oligosaccharide chains in glycoproteins.

Target Subcellular Location

Secreted.

Target Protein Families

Glycosyl hydrolase 22 family

Target Tissue Specificity

Mammary gland specific. Secreted in milk.

Target Synonyms

a-LACTA; alfaLA; Alpha-lactalbumin; Lactalbumin alpha; Lactose synthase B protein; LALBA; LALBA_HUMAN; Lysozyme-like protein 7; LYZL7; MGC138521; MGC138523

Target Background

This gene encodes alpha-lactalbumin, a principal protein of milk. Alpha-lactalbumin forms the regulatory subunit of the lactose synthase (LS) heterodimer and beta 1, 4-galactosyltransferase (beta4Gal-T1) forms the catalytic component. Together, these proteins enable LS to produce lactose by transfering galactose moieties to glucose. As a monomer, alpha-lactalbumin strongly binds calcium and zinc ions and may possess bactericidal or antitumor activity. A folding variant of alpha-lactalbumin, called HAMLET, likely induces apoptosis in tumor and immature cells.