Abstract
Summary
Rabbit serum contains two immunologically distinct α-macroglobulins, α1M and α2M, while only an α2M has been described in human serum. Rat serum contains an α2M which, like rabbit α1M, increases in acute inflammation. Antisera to these macroglobulins cross-react with serum proteins in different species. Using such antisera, we have shown: (i) rabbit α1M corresponds to human α2M and to a normal protein in the rat; (ii) the α2M that appears in rat serum in relatively large amounts during acute inflammation is antigenically related, but not identical, to a protein present in normal rats, which is homologous to rabbit α1M and to human α2M; (iii) rabbit α2M is antigenically related to a protein in the rat which does not increase during acute inflammation; (iv) rabbit α2M has no homologue in human serum that has as yet been identified.
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