Serum concentrations of 10 acute-phase proteins in healthy term and preterm infants from birth to age 6 months

Abstract

Aiming to define the evolution pattern of 10 acute-phase proteins in early infancy, we measured nephelometrically the serum concentrations of albumin, prealbumin, retinol-binding protein, transferrin, ceruloplasmin, hemopexin, haptoglobin, alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, alpha 2-macroglobulin, and alpha 1-antitrypsin in 395 term and preterm infants (gestational ages 26-41 weeks). Measurements were performed within 24 h after birth and then at the end of 1 (n = 171), 3 (n = 155), and 6 (n = 90) months afterwards. Data obtained from 250 healthy adults were used as adult reference values. All proteins increased progressively with postnatal age, except for alpha 1-antitrypsin, which remained stable from birth to the 6th month. Concentrations of almost all measured proteins were significantly lower in preterm than in term infants in the first 3 months. Compared with adult values, alpha 2-macroglobulin and alpha 1-antitrypsin were higher in infants throughout the 6 months. The other proteins were significantly lower at birth than adult values but after 6 months, only albumin, prealbumin, retinol-binding protein, and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein still remained lower in infants. Thus both gestational and postnatal age should be considered when interpreting concentrations of these proteins in early infancy.

Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Considerations for Drugs Binding to Alpha-1-Acid Glycoprotein

“…Ontogeny AAG levels range from undetectable in the developing human fetus, to 0.1-0.2 mg/ml in cord blood (47,51,53), up to 0.3 mg/ml at birth (34,51,(54)(55)(56)(57), steadily increasing to 0.4-0.7 mg/ml at 2-3 months (34,50,55), and achieving adult levels (0.6-0.9 mg/ml) by 10-12 months of age (33,34,58) (Table IV). Similarly, AAG is undetectable (<0.04 mg/ml) in the cord blood of dogs, thus significantly lower compared to adult dogs (0.32 mg/ml) (25).…”

Reference distributions for α2‐macroglobulin: A comparison of a large cohort to the world's literature

“…Of the 40 studies included in these analyses, 23 publications provided values on age, sex, and racial or ethnic groups (7,8,(10)(11)(12)(15)(16)(17)(18)(20)(21)(22)(23)28,29,(32)(33)(34)36,40,(43)(44)(45). A total of 16 were in Caucasian, or mainly Caucasians, cohorts One reported separate results in Caucasian and black Africans (21).…”

C‐reactive protein in blood plasma and serum samples of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina)

“…Comparable low levels for haptoglobin were also reported in newborn harbor seals (Kakuschke 2006) and northern fur seal neonates (Beckmen et al 2003). An extensive study investigating 10 acute phase proteins in 395 human juveniles during the first months of their life described the lowest concentrations for most acute phase proteins at birth with a progressive increase until 6 mo of age (Kanakoudi et al 1995).…”