DIFFERENCES IN ELASTASE-BINDING ACTIVITY OF ALPHA-1-PROTEASE INHIBITOR AND ALPHA-2-MACROGLOBULIN FOR ASTHMA PATIENTS AND CONTROL SUBJECTS WITH VARIOUS ALPHA-1-PROTEASE INHIBITOR PHENOTYPES
Mc. Gaillard et al., DIFFERENCES IN ELASTASE-BINDING ACTIVITY OF ALPHA-1-PROTEASE INHIBITOR AND ALPHA-2-MACROGLOBULIN FOR ASTHMA PATIENTS AND CONTROL SUBJECTS WITH VARIOUS ALPHA-1-PROTEASE INHIBITOR PHENOTYPES, Clinical chemistry, 39(4), 1993, pp. 675-679
Forty-two adult patients with asthma and 30 control subjects were inve
stigated for elastase-binding capacities of alpha1-protease inhibitor
and alpha2-macroglobulin in plasma. The binding activities of alpha1-p
rotease inhibitor and alpha2-macroglobulin in asthmatic patients with
the M phenotype for the alpha1-protease inhibitor differed in their re
lationship to the values in control subjects with the same phenotype [
less alpha1-protease inhibitor for asthmatics (35.1 +/- 1.8) than for
controls (42.9 +/- 2.0 kU/L) (P <0.001); more alpha2-macroglobulin for
asthmatics (6.9 +/- 0.3) than for control subjects (5.9 +/- 0.4 kU/L)
(P <0.03)]. In contrast, the patients with a deficiency allele (S, V,
or Z) for al-protease inhibitor had lower activities of both alpha1-p
rotease inhibitor [22.1 +/- 0.1 vs 42.9 +/- 2.0 kU/L (P <0.001)] and a
lpha2-macroglobulin [4.6 +/- 0.6 vs 5.9 +/- 0.4 kU/L (P <0.001)] than
did the control subjects with the M phenotypes. The relevance of the r
esults to the pathogenesis of asthma is discussed.