[Clinical significance of quantitative serum hemopexin assessment as compared with that of haptoglobin]

Isolation of human haemopexin by bioaffinity chromatography on haeme-sepharose

A preparative procedure was developed for the isolation of human apohaemopexin from Cohn fraction IV or blood serum, based on bioaffinity chromatography on haeme-Sepharose. The isolation is carried out in the pH range 4-8; hence the possibility of degradation of the carbohydrate moiety of the glycoprotein in the acidic media used in other isolation procedures is decreased. Owing to the conditions of the separation and the good stability of the affinity support, the column can be used repeatedly for long periods without a significant loss of binding capacity. The reversibility of the conformational changes that haemopexin undergoes in acidic media was examined by hydrophobic chromatography. The original hydrophobic characteristics were restored only approximately 48 h after haemopexin had been brought into a neutral medium.

The serum protein pattern in primary hepatoma and amoebic liver abscess

A study of the serum proteins pattern of 30 patients with primary liver cell carcinoma and 11 with amoebic liver abscess was carried out. When compared with controls significant differences were found for both conditions in the values of pre-albumin, transferrin, albumin, haptoglobin, alpha 2-macroglobulin, and alpha 2HS-glycoprotein. In the differential diagnosis of amoebic liver abscess and primary hepatic carcinoma, the estimation of albumin, alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, haptoglobin ceruloplasmin, alpha 2H2-glycoprotein and transferrin was found helpful.