Acute-phase response of plasma protein synthesis during experimental inflammation in neonatal rats

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Abstract
The pattern of plasma protein concentrations in neonatal rats differs characteristically from that in adult animals. Immediately after birth, the concentration of α2-macroglobulin is about 200 times higher, that of major acute-phase α1 protein the same, and that of α1-acid glycoprotein, another acute phase protein, is considerably lower, compared with the values observed in healthy adults. The concentration of prealbumin, a negative acute-phase protein, remains low in the immediate postnatal period, but increases at a time when concentrations of both thyroxine and corticosterone increase. At this time, there is also a distinct increase in the concentration of α1-acid glycoprotein. Despite the differences in concentration of plasma proteins in the adult rat and the neonate, the neonatal liver has the capability to respond to an acute inflammation with a coordinated change in the synthesis rates of plasma proteins similar to that observed in adult animals.