A novel protein and a process of producing the protein is provided. The
protein is a glycoprotein having activity of suppressing the
differentiation and/or maturation of adipocyte, having a molecular weight
of about 45 kD under non-reducing conditions and about 28 kD and/or 23 kD
under reducing conditions, and exhibiting affinity to heparin. A process
of producing the protein comprising culturing human fibroblasts and
purifying the culture broth by chromatography using an ion exchange
column, affinity column, and reverse phase column.A cDNA encoding the
protein and a process of producing the protein using the cDNA are also
provided. The protein of the present invention is useful as a
pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating obesity or as an
antigen for establishing immunological diagnosis, etc.