Alpha1-microglobulin chromophores are located to three lysine residues semiburied in the lipocalin pocket and associated with a novel lipophilic compound
Alpha1-microglobulin (alpha1m) is an electrophoretically heterogeneous plasma protein. It belongs to the lipocalin superfamily, a group of proteins with a three-dimensional (3D) structure that forms an internal hydrophobic ligand-binding pocket. Alpha1m carries a covalently linked unidentified chromophore that gives the protein a characteristic brown color and extremely heterogeneous optical prope