Cloning and developmental regulation of α₁ acid glycoprotein in swine

A cDNA clone of porcine alpha₁ acid glycoprotein (α₁AGP) has been isolated and sequenced. Sequence homologies between porcine, human, and rat indicate that porcine α₁AGP is similar in structure to the rat and human proteins. RNA blots from days 40, 60, 80, and 110 fetal, newborn, and adult livers showed that α₁AGP mRNA is relatively abundant throughout fetal development, particularly at the later stages and in the newborn; there is a rapid decline in abundance following birth. From birth to 3 days of age, there is a three‐ to four‐fold decline in abundance, and α₁AGP mRNA is approximately 100 times less abundant in the adult liver than in that of perinatal pigs. Southern blots showed that α₁AGP is probably a single‐copy gene. The isolation of a cloned cDNA for porcine α₁AGP provides a tool to investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in the developmental regulation of the gene and to correlate changes in gene expression during development with fetal growth and well being.