Whey Acidic Protein

In molecular biology, the protein domain Whey acidic protein (WAP) has been identified as a major whey protein in milk and is important in regulating the proliferation of mammary epithelial cells. Additionally, its physiological function is thought to be similar to a protease inhibitor. It has been concluded, therefore, that WAP regulates the proliferation of mammary epithelial cells by preventing elastase-type serine proteases from carrying out laminin degradation and by suppressing the MAP kinase signal pathway in the cell cycle.