A Study Of Alpha-1-Antitrypsin Inhibitory Capacity And Gell Electrophoretic Patterns For Diagnosis Of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease And Cirrhosis

Abstract

A study was made of the possible correlation of alpha-l-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency and the occurence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. One hundred serum samples were obtained from the laboratory at St. Peter’s Hospital. Spectrophotometric analysis was used to measure the level of ATT activity of these samples. Our study was concerned with the presence of pulmonary emphysema, asthma, bronchitis, and cirrhosis in individuals with varying levels of alpha-l-antitrypsin activity. A correlation was found between the spectrophotometric data and these pathological conditions as indicated by the medical histories of the patients. A variation was found between the results of our study and one done by Homer, who also performed a screening test for AAT deficiency. Gel electrophoresis was used to attempt detection of phenotypic variation of AAT in serum proteins. The variation could not be seen in our gels.