Serum Amyloid P‐Component and C‐Reactive Protein in Serum of Healthy Icelanders and Members of an Icelandic Family with Macroglobulinaemia

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Abstract
Serum levels of amyloid P-component (SAP) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined in 260 asymptomatic Icelanders of both sexes and various age groups and in 60 members of a family with macroglobulinemia. In the normal group the SAP levels were normally distributed but slightly higher than in a comparable British group. Elevated levels of SAP and CRP were found in 4 elderly sibs of the macroglobulinemia family. Two of them had benign monoclonal macroglobulinemia (BMM), 1 had Waldenstroem''s macroglobulinemia and 1 increased polyclonal IgA. A notable small increase (2-20 .mu.g/ml) in the levels of CRP was found in 6 children and 3 grandchildren of 2 elderly sibs with BMM. This increase in serum CRP levels was also found in 5 of 6 family members when investigated 4 yr later. The HLA haplotypes present in the family members, including B7, are not closely associated with the various abnormal protein changes detected in the elderly sibs of the 2nd generation or their descendents. The increased levels of SAP, CRP or IgM are not associated with any particular type of the genetic protein markers or blood group systems tested.