Studies on the effect of inflammation on rat serum proteins

Abstract

The effect of turpentine-induced inflammation on rat serum proteins has been studied at short time periods of exposure to an inflammatory agent (5–96 h). There was an increase in protein-bound hexose and hexosamine of serum reaching a maximum at 48 h after administration of turpentine. Eight fractions were prepared from serum by a combination of chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and preparative electrophoresis on strips of gelatinized cellulose acetate. Most of the increase in protein-bound carbohydrate (77–86%) found in serum from experimental animals was located in three fractions following the fractionation procedure; immunological studies revealed the presence of fibrinogen and haptoglobin in two of these fractions. There was no evidence for the presence of a new protein in serum at short times of exposure to an inflammatory agent. Proteins present in the perchloric acid soluble and seromucoid fractions of serum were found in five fractions, only two of which contributed to the increase in protein-bound carbohydrate of serum found as a result of inflammation. Studies involving incorporation of labelled precursors of glycoprotein biosynthesis into fractions from serum indicated that the most likely explanation for the increase in protein-bound carbohydrate of serum, as a result of inflammation, was an increase in the rate of synthesis of certain serum glycoproteins.