Mouse whey acidic protein is a novel member of the family of ‘four-disulfide core’ proteins

Unlike in other mammalian species, the major whey protein in mouse is not alpha-lactalbumin, but a cysteine rich, acidic protein with a molecular weight of 14.0 kDa. We have deduced the amino acid sequence of this mouse acidic of whey protein from the nucleotide sequence of cloned cDNA. The positions of the half cysteines suggest that mouse whey acidic protein (WAP) is a two domain protein, very similar in structure to the plant lectin wheat germ agglutinin and the hypothalamic carrier protein neurophysin.