ALPHA(1)-ACID GLYCOPROTEIN (OROSOMUCOID) - PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGESIN GLYCOSYLATION IN RELATION TO ITS FUNCTION

The aim of this review is to summarize the research efforts of the las t two decades with respect to (i) the determination and characterizati on of the changes in glycosylation of AGP under various physiological and pathological states; and (ii) the effects of such changes on its p ossible anti-inflammatory functions. It will become clear that the het erogeneity observed in the glycosylation of AGP in serum, represents v arious so-called glycoforms of AGP, of which the relative amounts are strictly determined by the (patho) physiological conditions.