Variation of the Concentrations of some Plasma Proteins in normal Adults, in Pregnant Women and in Newborns

Abstract

The concentrations of 22 proteins were determined on plasma from normal men and women, from pregnant women and from newborns. Most values were given not in absolute units, but relative to those of a reference plasma pool. The variations with sex found and the relative values found in pregnant women and newborns agreed with data reported by others. The values found for 14 major proteins were studied for any intercorrelations. Five proteins, haptoglobin, fibrinogen, orosomucoid, β_1C-globulin and β_1E-globulin, all known as “acute phase reactants”, were fairly closely correlated. In some respects hemopexin, ceruloplasmin and plasminogen seemed to be associated to this group in different ways, while another protein, a,-antitrypsin, usually also classified an an “acute phase reactant”, seemed not to belong to this group.