Riley J H, Bathurst I C, Edbrooke M R, Carrell R W, Craig R K
FEBS Lett. 1985 Sep 23;189(2):361-6. doi: 10.1016/0014-5793(85)81056-5.
Alpha 1-Antitrypsin and albumin mRNA levels of 4 human livers were assessed using a newly sequenced cDNA clone of the carboxyterminal third of alpha 1-antitrypsin and a previously cloned albumin cDNA sequence. The relative concentration of alpha 1-antitrypsin mRNA was the same in poly(A)-containing RNA isolated from acute phase (MM) and alpha1-antitrypsin deficient (ZZ) individuals. In the acute phase liver relative to the normal (MM) liver, total RNA extracts showed a marked decrease in albumin mRNA concentration but no increase in alpha 1-antitrypsin mRNA. The ZZ liver showed decreased total and poly(A)-containing RNA content but the same proportion of alpha 1-antitrypsin to albumin mRNA as in the normal (MM) liver. This supports other evidence that ZZ alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency is due to a defect in polypeptide processing (secretion) rather than a deficiency in mRNA accumulation.
