EFFECT OF HUMAN CORD AND POST-OPERATIVE SERUM ON EXPERIMENTAL INFLAMMATION IN THE RAT

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 60  (3) , 239-245
Abstract
Human cord and postoperative serum depressed the edema provoked by mediators of the inflammatory reaction such as bradykinin, histamine, serotonin and prostaglandin E2 and also the experimental inflammation caused by carrageenan. Normal human and pregnancy serum did not have such an effect. In 2 cases of open neural tube defect, 1 of anencephaly and another of spina bifida, human amniotic fluid also had a strongly depressing effect on the experimental edema provoked by serotonin. Human amniotic fluid from normal pregnancies did not inhibit this experimental inflammation. A protein-fraction of MW 30,000-100,000 was isolated from the inhibiting sera and shows the anti-inflammatory activity to be dose-related towards all the edema-provoking substances used. Immunological studies showed that the inhibiting factor could be a protein in the pre-albuminic region, while .alpha.-fetoprotein did not appear to be responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity. Human serum may contain a protein of fetal origin with an acute-phase character and strong anti-inflammatory activities analogous to rat .alpha.2-macroetoprotein.