甲胎蛋白分子演化的生物信息学分析

A bioinformatics analysis for the molecular evolution of alpha-fetoprotein

甲胎蛋白(AFP)是类白蛋白家族成员蛋白之一,在生物个体发育以及肝癌发生发展中起重要作用.为了研究AFP的系统发生,并以此探讨系统发育与个体发育的关系,运用生物信息学手段,分析了不同物种中类白蛋白家族成员的进化关系,并对各分子的白蛋白结构域进行了进化归类.同时,对不同物种的白蛋白(ALB)和AFP之间包含启动子、抑制子和增强子在内的约14 kb的核苷酸序列进行了比较分析.研究从系统发育的角度阐释了AFP分子及其基因调控机制的演化方式,为更好的认识AFP在机体生理和病理状态的作用建立了理论分析的基础.

The alpha-fetoprotein （AFP） gene, a member of the albuminoid gene family, plays an important role in individual development. It is also a sign of hepatoma when its concentration is high in the adult. In order to study the polygenesis of AFP and the relationship between individual development and system development, the evolution of the albuminoid gene family was analyzed by analyzing the proteins of the gene family from different species by bioinformatics approaches, and drew a phylogenetic tree of different albumin domains from different proteins. Furthermore, the 14 kb intergenic space sequences were compared between ALB and AFP, including promoters, suppressors and enhancers in 5 different species. The evolution of AFP and its gene regulation mechanism from the point view of the system development were discussed. This research builds the theoretical basis to study the function of alpha-fetoprotein in physiology and pathology.