I am working on Transthyretin protein and its aggregation. I would like to know from the experts in the field. How you define a protein is serum protein or a plasma protein. Transthyretin is a tetrameric protein and often called plasma protein. But few call it a serum protein. What is right? If we do blood analysis, where we should expect transthyretin to fractionate: Serum or plasma? #plasmaprotein #serumprotein #serum #plasma
Hello Virender Singh
Plasma proteins are proteins present in the blood plasma and are produced by the liver. Serum and plasma both come from the liquid portion of blood that remains once the cells are removed.
However, serum is the liquid that remains after the blood has clotted and plasma is the liquid that remains when clotting is prevented with the addition of an anticoagulant. In this way, the total serum protein concentration includes the total of specific proteins in the plasma with the exception of those that are consumed in clot formation like fibrinogen and clotting factors. Plasma protein is thus greater than serum protein. If I were you, for blood analysis of transthyretin I would use plasma.
Best.
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