Bovine Serum Albumin: Proteins and Enzymes

Albumin is a soluble, monomeric protein which comprises about one-half of the blood serum protein. It functions primarily as a carrier protein for steroids, fatty acids, and thyroid hormones, and plays a role in stabilizing extracellular fluid volume. Albumin is synthesized in the liver as preproalbumin which has an N-terminal peptide that is removed before the nascent protein is released from the rough endoplasmic reticulum. The product, proalbumin, is in turn cleaved in the Golgi vesicles to produce the secreted albumin.