Alpha₁ Antitrypsin and Alpha₁ Lipoprotein in Plasmamucoid of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Summary

An immuno-electrophoretic method for the determination of alpha₁ antitrypsin and alpha₁ lipoprotein in plasmamucoid was worked out. In plasmamucoid, alpha₁ antitrypsin is found to be present in RA and gout in practically all cases, in controls in 35.7 % of the cases, in ankylosing spondylitis in 81.4 % of the cases, in degenerative joint diseases and cardiopathy in 65.6 and 68.2 % of the cases, respectively. In RA, the increase is significant as compared to any of the other groups under investigation. The number of subjects with increased levels of the protein fraction of alpha₁ lipoprotein in plasmamucoid in the groups of cardiopathy (40.9 %) and ankylosing spondylitis (37.2 %) is relatively non-significantly higher than in the other groups under investigation (0—33.7 %). Plasmamucoid shows the presence of different ratios of the light and heavy forms of alpha₁ lipoprotein and a varying proportion of these two forms for one and the same patient. A different behaviour of alpha₁ lipoprotein in plasmamucoid was found in gamma plasmocytoma. Facultative correlations are discussed though the findings are not specific.