Zinc-alpha-2-glycoprotein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the AZGP1gene.[5][6]
This gene expresses a soluble protein that stimulates lipolysis, induces a reduction in body fat in mice, is associated with the cachexia related to cancer, and is known to be expressed in secretory cells of lungepithelium.[7] In 2009, it was found that smoking increases expression of this gene, which is why smoking cessation leads to weight gain.[7] Zinc-alpha-2-glycoprotein levels also rise with onset of Diabetes 2, which accounts for weight loss thereafter.
^"Human PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
^"Mouse PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
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Brysk MM, Lei G, Rajaraman S, et al. (1997). "Gene expression of zinc-alpha 2-glycoprotein in normal human epidermal and buccal epithelia". In Vivo. 11 (3): 271–4. PMID9239523.
Lei G, Arany I, Selvanayagam P, et al. (1997). "Detection and cloning of epidermal zinc-alpha 2-glycoprotein cDNA and expression in normal human skin and in tumors". J. Cell. Biochem. 67 (2): 216–22. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-4644(19971101)67:2<216::AID-JCB6>3.0.CO;2-#. PMID9328826.
Ogikubo O, Maeda T, Yamane T, et al. (1998). "Regulation of Zn-alpha2-glycoprotein-mediated cell adhesion by kininogens and their derivatives". Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 252 (1): 257–62. doi:10.1006/bbrc.1998.9614. PMID9813179.
Sánchez LM, Chirino AJ, Bjorkman P (1999). "Crystal structure of human ZAG, a fat-depleting factor related to MHC molecules". Science. 283 (5409): 1914–9. doi:10.1126/science.283.5409.1914. PMID10206894.
Lei G, Brysk H, Arany I, et al. (1999). "Characterization of zinc-alpha(2)-glycoprotein as a cell adhesion molecule that inhibits the proliferation of an oral tumor cell line". J. Cell. Biochem. 75 (1): 160–9. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-4644(19991001)75:1<160::AID-JCB16>3.0.CO;2-B. PMID10462714.
Davidsson P, Nilsson CL (2000). "Peptide mapping of proteins in cerebrospinal fluid utilizing a rapid preparative two-dimensional electrophoretic procedure and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry". Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1473 (2–3): 391–9. doi:10.1016/s0304-4165(99)00197-x. PMID10594376.