Increased alpha-fetoprotein

Alpha-fetoprotein is a glycoprotein, English abbreviation AFP. Under normal circumstances, this protein mainly comes from the liver cells of the embryo. Alpha-fetoprotein disappears from the blood about two weeks after the fetus is born, so the normal human serum alpha-fetoprotein content is less than 20 micrograms / liter. Alpha-fetoprotein (α-fetoprotein, αFP or AFP) is mainly synthesized in the fetal liver, with a molecular weight of 69,000, and AFP accounts for 1/3 of the total plasma protein in the fetus at 13 weeks. It reaches the highest peak at 30 weeks of gestation, and then gradually declines. The plasma concentration at birth is about 1% of the peak period, about 40 mg / L, which is close to the adult level (under 30 μmg / L) at the age of one week.