Plasma Protein Metabolism

This survey of plasma protein metabolism will deal almost exclusively with clinical aspects. Disturbed plasma protein metabolism with ensuing alteration of plasma protein concentration is almost as common as an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate in clinical medicine. An example is the decrease of serum albumin which occurs almost consistently in acute infections, in coronary thrombosis and following surgery. Furthermore, the metabolism of a specific plasma protein may be altered without any change of its serum concentration. If both the synthetic rate and the degradation rate are doubled, then the serum concentration remains unchanged. This is often the case for the major immunoglobulin class, IgG, in chronic infections. Thus, to obtain information on the effect of a given disease on specific plasma proteins, it is necessary to perform turnover studies.