Catabolic rate of alpha1-antitrypsin of Pi type M and Z in man.

1. Human alpha1-antitrypsin was isolated from three Pi M and two Pi Z subjects without alteration of its microheterogeneity. The purified proteins were labelled with either 125I or 131I by a lactoperoxidase method. 2. The disappearance rate of two types of alpha1-antitrypsin were studied after simultaneous injection of labelled M-protein and Z-protein into Pi M subjects. 3. The ratio of extravascular to plasma pools of alpha1-antitrypsin ranged between 1-2 and 1-6 with no difference between M- and Z-protein. The mean fractional catabolic rates of M-protein and Z-protein were respectively 0-26 and 0-40 per day. 4. The difference in catabolic rate of Z- and of M-protein is too small to explain why the alpha1-antitrypsin content of the blood in Pi ZZ subjects is only 15% of that normally found in Pi MM subjects. The low alpha1-antitrypsin in Pi ZZ subjects appears mainly to be due to a low rate of biosynthesis.