Plasma Glycoproteins in Various Disease States Including Carcinoma

TLDR

Abstract

Summary The protein-bound hexose (galactose and mannose) of the neutral glycoprotein fraction of human plasma has been determined in a series of 648 human subjects including normal individuals and patients suffering from a broad spectrum of disease states. In 112 samples all six known protein-bound carbohydrate fractions of the neutral glycoprotein have been determined. All six protein-bound carbohydrates of the plasma neutral glycoprotein of patients with malignant disease are significantly elevated as compared with the levels observed in the plasma of normal individuals and patients with nonmalignant disease, with the exception of the hexosamine levels in the latter group. In the malignant disease group the behavior of the plasma protein-bound carbohydrates in cases of localized carcinoma of the breast is at variance with that observed in other types of malignancy. In four patients with malignant disease serial determinations of the plasma protein-bound galactose-mannose of the neutral glycoprotein fraction during treatment would suggest that the changes observed in these carbohydrates are intimately related to the neoplastic process.