transferrin

Thân thiện

A doctor examines a patient's transferrin levels on a medical chart.

Definition

Noun: A specific type of beta globulin found in blood plasma. Its primary biological function is to bind and transport iron throughout the body.

Usage

"Transferrin" is a scientific and medical term. It is used as a countable noun when referring to the protein molecule itself, and as an uncountable noun when referring to it as a substance or measuring its level. * The liver synthesizes transferrin. * A blood test can measure your serum transferrin level. * Each transferrin molecule can bind two atoms of ferric iron.

Examples

• Medical Context: "Low transferrin saturation is a common indicator of iron deficiency."
• Biological Context: "Transferrin delivers iron to cells by binding to specific receptors on their surface."
• General Scientific Context: "The gene responsible for encoding transferrin is located on chromosome 3."

Advanced Usage

• Transferrin Saturation: A calculated percentage (serum iron / total iron-binding capacity) used to assess iron status.
• Carbohydrate-Deficient Transferrin (CDT): A variant of transferrin used as a biomarker for chronic excessive alcohol consumption.

Variants and Related Words

• Apotransferrin (n.): The form of transferrin without bound iron.
• Holotransferrin (n.): The form of transferrin saturated with bound iron.
• Transferrin Receptor (n.): A cell surface protein that binds holotransferrin to import iron into the cell.

Synonyms

• Siderophilin (n.): A less common biochemical synonym for transferrin.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a globulin in blood plasma that carries iron

Từ đồng nghĩa

• beta globulin
• siderophilin