Serum Haptoglobin Levels Research Articles

Serum Haptoglobin

A study of a large group of patients was undertaken to determine the effect of compatible whole blood transfusion on the level of serum haptoglobin in order to assess the usefulness of this measurement as a diagnostic test of hemolytic transfusion reactions. In the entire series of 185 patients there were only four cases in which the pretransfusion level was within normal limits and the posttransfusion level was less than 30 mg/100 ml. In all four cases, clinical information is available which adequately explains the drop in serum haptoglobin level. In the only three instances of hemolytic transfusion reactions in the San Francisco area that are known to the authors, the serum haptoglobin determined immediately after the reaction was zero. It is concluded that the measurement of serum haptoglobin is a valuable diagnostic aid in suspected hemolytic transfusion reaction and should be a routine part of the evaluation in all such cases.

Increased haptoglobin serum levels in a group of blood donors.

The serum haptoglobin levels of 1,143 blood donors have been determined. A high average value has been found (216 ± 83 mg Hp per 100 ml) and it is speculated that this may be a consequence of a diminished red cell destruction in people submitted to too frequent blood donations. The correlations between haptoglobin, serum iron, serum protein and/or blood hemoglobin levels were estimated. No statistically significant correlation was found between these values.

Haptoglobins and rheumatic fever.

The haptoglobins are polymorphic ?2-globulins which combine with free haemoglobin (Polonovski and Jayle, 1940). The usual method of haptoglobin typing with starch-gel electro phoresis reveals three phenotypes designated Hp 1-1, 2-1, and 2-2 (Smithies, 1955). A fourth phenotype in which no haptoglobin bands are detected has been classified Hp 0. Special methods reveal 15 possible haptoglobin phenotypes which are produced by the action of five autosomai, allelic, co-dominant genes (HplF, Hpls, Hp2FF, Hp2FS, Hp2SS) at a single locus (Connell et al., 1962 ; Nance and Smithies, 1963). This polymorphism has been studied in many populations. Both racial and regional variations in gene frequencies have been re ported (Parker and Beam, 1961). There is no known reason for such variations, but it is suspected that the //p1 and Hp2 genes are now or have in the past been influenced by one or more selective factors. Evidence for this hypothesis has been presented in a study (Workman et al., 1963) in which the Hp1 gene frequency differences between the West African and American negro populations could not be accounted for on the basis of gene migration alone. Their evidence suggests that the haptoglob'n genes have different adaptive values in the two populations and that the polymorphism may possibly be un stable in the populations studied. The level of haptoglobin in the blood is influenced by a variety of factors. These include inflammation, haemolysis, hormone administration, administration of pyrogens, and probably genetic constitution (Nyman, 1959). Variations re lated to sex (Nyman, 1959), age (Jayle and Moretti, 1962), and haptoglobin phenotype (Smith and Owen, 1961) have also been found. Mean levels of haptoglobin in relation to pheno type in decreasing order are : Hp l-l>Hp 2-l>Hp 2-2. Rheumatic fever is a disease which produces inflammatory changes in connective tissue. During the acute attack serum haptoglobin levels are markedly elevated (Owen et al., 1964). This is probably due to the release of a material from the in flamed tissue which stimulates the hepatic synthesis of hapto globin (Borel et al., 1964). No information concerning the haptoglob'n levels of individuals who have recovered from the acute attack of rheumatic fever is available. The present study was done to compare the distributions of haptoglobin pheno types and haptoglobin levels of a suitable control population with those of a group of adults who had had one or more documented episodes of rheumatic fever or clinically proved rheumatic heart disease some time in the past.

Determination of Serum Haptoglobin Levels by Cellulose Acetate Electrophoresis

Basic conditions for the application of cellulose acetate electrophoresis to the quantitation of serum haptoglobin levels were investigated and a convenient method was established. This method consisted of addition of hemoglobin into serum to a final concentration of 300mg/dl, and applying a 4μl aliquot of the serum on a strip of cellulose acetate mambrane at 1/3 from the cathode end. Electrophoresis was carried out at 0.5mA/cm and at 110-140V for 1 hour in a 0.05M phosphate buffer, pH 7.0. After drying the membrane, it was stained with o-dianisidine for 10 minutes and washed with distilled water for an additional 10-minute period. Densitometric scanning was carried out at 430mμ. When the concentration of added hemoglobin was less than 300mg/dl, the densitometric reading of free hemoglobin was found to be almost always 1.25 times that of haptoglobin-hemoglobin complex.It was, therefore, necessary to correct densitometric data by the following equation in order to get haptoglobin levels;Hp(mg/dl)=300×1.25(Hp-Hb)/methemalb.+1.25(Hp-Hb)+free Hb

Haptoglobin in children with infectious hepatitis

Serum haptoglobin levels were determined several times during the course of the disease in children with infectious hepatitis. At the onset of uncomplicated acute hepatitis the serum haptoglobin is in the normal range. There is a significant temporary rise in serum haptoglobin during the recovery stage of the disease, after which it returns to normal. The absence of this rise or the fall of serum haptoglobin below normal level are unfavorable prognostic signs, indicating the transition of the disease to the subacute or chronic form. Serum haptoglobin levels were determined several times during the course of the disease in children with infectious hepatitis. At the onset of uncomplicated acute hepatitis the serum haptoglobin is in the normal range. There is a significant temporary rise in serum haptoglobin during the recovery stage of the disease, after which it returns to normal. The absence of this rise or the fall of serum haptoglobin below normal level are unfavorable prognostic signs, indicating the transition of the disease to the subacute or chronic form.

Haptoglobins and transferrins in Melanesia: relation to hemoglobin, serum haptoglobin and serum iron levels in population groups in Papua--New Guinea.

AbstractThis paper reports haptoglobin and transferrin typping of 2687 serum specimens from Melanesians of New Guinea and New Britain. The specimens were obtained from members of 27 different cultural and linguistic groups residing in over 100 different villages in six different administrative districts. They were divided among the Districts as follows: New Britain 821, Sepik 623, Morobe 349, Eastern Highlands 613, Southern Highlands 222, and Western Highlands 59.In addition serum haptoglobin levels, serum iron levels and total serum iron binding capacity have been determined on these subjects. In the field hemoglobin determinations, blood smears for examination for malaria parasite rates, and spleen palpations were done on a proportion of the subjects, mostly children under ten years whose sera have been examined in this study. These field and laboratory results are correlated with the transferrin and haptoglobin gene frequency findings.

SERUM HAPTOGLOBIN LEVEL IN CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH M-COMPONENTS.

SERUM HAPTOGLOBIN LEVEL IN CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH M-COMPONENTS.

Alterations in haptoglobin levels.

THE HAPTOGLOBINS are a family of serum proteins which bind hemoglobin. The early studies of Jayle and his co-workers1demonstrated that the haptoglobin levels are elevated in a wide variety of inflammatory diseases. In some illnesses associated with hemolysis, the hemoglobin released from the breakdown of the red blood cells combines with the haptoglobin to form a strong complex which appears to be removed in the reticuloendothelial system. If the rate of breakdown of red blood cells is greater than the production of haptoglobin, the serum haptoglobin level will decrease, in some cases to undetectable levels. If the hemolytic process is arrested, the haptoglobin can be regenerated (presumably in the liver) and the serum levels may return to normal. When starch gel is used as a supporting medium for electrophoresis,2,3human sera can be separated according to haptoglobin types. Three major types, 1-1, 2-2, and 2-1, were

Hypohaptoglobinaemia in an American Negro family.

WITH the demonstration that random population pairs and dizygotic twins show greater intra-pair variability than monozygotic twins in serum haptoglobin (Hp) level, evidence for the genetic regulation of this protein has been presented1. This work also demonstrated that the normal values for haptoglobin phenotypes Hp 2–2 and Hp 2–1 are lower than those for Hp 1–1. If these differences are genetically determined, a similar mechanism involving the Hp 2 allele may be operative in a benign, genetically determined deficiency of serum haptoglobin2–4. A family of Dominican descent in which nine members drawn from two generations had haptoglobin-levels ranging from 6 to 52 mg/100 ml. and Hp 2–1 and Hp 2–2 phenotypes has also been reported5. On the basis of the available pedigrees, inheritance of this trait via a recessive haptoglobin allele (Hp°) or a simple non-allelic dominant has been excluded. Although so far all Caucasians with hypohaptoglobinaemia have been, when typable, phenotypically Hp 2–1 or Hp 2–2, a strong association between the Hp 2m–1 phenotype and haptoglobin depression exists in the American Negro6. We have studied an American Negro family, containing a pair of monozygotic twins in which hypohaptoglobinaemia unrelated to haemolysis existed throughout an entire generation of offspring.

Factors Influencing the Serum Haptoglobin Level in Infancy

SummarySome factors which possibly influence the serum haptoglobin levels in infancy were investigated with Jayle's activation method which measures the peroxidase activity of the haemoglobin‐haptoglobin complex. The following results were obtained. Sampling haemolysis, not visually detectable, has little influence on the determinations. Bilirubin added in a moderate concentration to serum samples decreases the peroxidase activity but the influence is of little practical importance except possibly at very low haptoglobin levels. Cord serum added to a normal serum does not decrease the peroxidase activity of the latter. It is concluded that cord serum does not contain to an appreciable amount substances inhibiting the formation of the haemoglobin‐haptoglobin complex or its peroxidase activity.The possible existence in cord serum of haptoglobins forming a complex with haemoglobin without peroxidase activity could not be demonstrated with a specially devised starch gel electrophoretic method.It was shown that infants 2 to 5 months old on an average have a higher serum haptoglobin level during acute infections than healthy infants of the same age. It is possible that the same holds true also for infants younger than 2 months. This was, however, not proved.

Serum haptoglobin in liver disease.

Serum haptoglobin levels have been measured in 115 cases of widely differing liver disease. Although low levels were found in some cases of cirrhosis and a number of patients with obstructive jaundice had increased levels, 70% of the values fell within the normal range. The estimation was of no help in distinguishing between intra- and extrahepatic obstructive jaundice. A characteristic pattern was observed in infective hepatitis, and a falling serum haptoglobin in the presence of increasing jaundice is diagnostic of the latter condition. The cause of these changes is uncertain. Low levels could not be accounted for by increased red cell breakdown and there was no correlation with the serum albumin level. Prednisolone therapy produced a rise in serum haptoglobin level in cirrhosis, which was accompanied by an improvement in liver function. Temporary rises in level were observed in intrahepatic obstructive jaundice and were probably due to a non-specific effect of prednisolone. In the latter condition norethandrolone therapy was often associated with high levels.

SERUM HAPTOGLOBINS IN HAEMOLYTIC STATES

Serum haptoglobin levels have been studied in patients with a number of haemolytic disorders. In general, serum haptoglobins were low in patients with increased haemolysis. Values were reduced irrespective of whether haemolysis occurred intravascularly or extravascularly. The reduction was related to the amount of haemoglobin destroyed per day. Serum haptoglobins may be raised in certain neoplasms and infections and during adrenocortical steroid hormone therapy. A rise in haptoglobins due to one of these factors may mask a fall due to haemolysis. Thus a normal or raised serum haptoglobin does not necessarily exclude a haemolytic process.

A simple method for the determination of serum haptoglobins.

Changes in the serum haptoglobin level have been reported in certain forms of anaemia (Allison and ap Rees, 1957; Allison, 1958; Nosslin and Nyman, 1958; Nyman, Gydell, and Nosslin, 1959), in hepatobiliary disease (Owen, Mackay, and Got, 1959) and in various inflammatory and chronic diseases (Jayle and Boussier, 1955; Allison and Blumberg, 1958). A simple colorimetric procedure for the determination of serum haptoglobins is presented. It is based on the peroxidase activity of haptoglobin-methaemoglobin complexes.

Studies on the Serum Haptoglobin Level in Hemoglobinemia and Its Influence on Renal Excretion of Hemoglobin

Abstract A short survey is given of the literature on haptoglobin, the hemoglobin-binding serum protein, its properties and biologic variations. The principles of an electrophoretic method for quantitative determination of the serum haptoglobin are described. Electrophoretic studies showed that haptoglobin has a high affinity for hemoglobin at physiologic pH and that every haptoglobin molecule can bind at least 2 hemoglobin molecules. Observations made following the intravenous injection of hemoglobin showed: that hemoglobin administered intravenously is bound by the haptoglobin; that free hemoglobin is not demonstrable until more hemoglobin has been injected than can be bound by the haptoglobin; that the complex hemoglobin-haptoglobin is eliminated from the plasma after intravascular hemolysis or intravenous administration of hemoglobin without being excreted in the urine; that the hemoglobin-haptoglobin complex is removed from the plasma at a constant rate during the major part of the elimination period; that the haptoglobin level will fall to nil within 24 hours, if the amount of hemoglobin injected is sufficient to bind all the haptoglobin available. During the following days the rate of formation of haptoglobin can be studied. From the data available it can be concluded that hemoglobinuria cannot appear until the amount of hemoglobin administered intravenously or the amount liberated intravascularly exceeds the binding power of the haptoglobin and the reabsorption capacity of the tubules. The variation observed by earlier authors in the so-called renal threshold for hemoglobin on intravenous injection of hemoglobin can be explained among other things by the variation in the haptoglobin content in one and the same subject, i.e., if the haptoglobin level is low, the threshold value will also be low, and vice versa.

The Life-History of Psoroptes Communis Var. Ovis with Particular Reference to Latent or Suppressed Scab

The techniques currently available for embryo collection in sheep include surgical (laparotomy; LP) and transcervical (TC) methods Although both methods are well established, there is no data about the levels of inflammatory markers in ewes after using such procedures. The objective of this study was to compare the systemic reaction to inflammation in ewes submitted to superovulation and embryo collection through LP or TC methods Blood samples were collected before each procedure (at D0) and at 3, 6 and 9 days after procedures to determine the levels of total protein, haptoglobin, fibrinogen and paraoxonase 1. The levels of inflammatory markers did not differ (P > 0.05) between methods Serum levels of haptoglobin and total protein and paraoxonase 1 activity increased after D0 (P < 0.05) for ewes submitted to both methods In conclusion, although TC is a less invasive embryo collection method compared to LP, both methods induced similar inflammatory response over time.