[Immunochemical study of the alpha 2-glycoprotein from the atherosclerotically altered aortic wall in the blood serum of ischemic heart disease patients].

A study was made of the level of alpha- and beta-lipoproteins, apolipoprotein H and tissue protein alpha 2-glycoprotein of the arteriosclerotically changed aortic wall in the blood serum of 129 patients with coronary arteriosclerosis, 50 patients with various diseases of the internal organs without clinical signs of arteriosclerosis and in 26 healthy patients by the immunodiffusion method using standard assays. A significant increase in beta- and alpha-lipoprotein indices was revealed in the groups of patients with coronary heart disease as compared to the healthy persons. alpha 2-glycoprotein of the arteriosclerotically changed aortic wall was undetectable in the blood serum of the healthy persons; in the group of patients without clinical signs of coronary heart disease this protein was detected in 5 patients only in the concentration of 4-8 micrograms/ml. alpha 2-glycoprotein concentration in the blood serum of the patients with the ischemic, thrombonecrotic and fibrous stages of arteriosclerosis was much higher (23.5 +/- 1.0; 27.5 +/- 2.9 and 35.3 +/- 2.2 micrograms/ml respectively). The proposed immunochemical determination of some indices of the blood serum can be of use to assess the activity of arteriosclerotic processes in patients with coronary heart disease. The determination of the level of alpha 2-glycoprotein of the arteriosclerotically changed aortic wall serves this purpose most adequately.