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Lancet (London, England) Jan 1977
Topics: Abdominal Muscles; Congenital Abnormalities; Female; Humans; Pregnancy; Prenatal Diagnosis; alpha-Fetoproteins
PubMed: 63676
DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(77)91676-2 -
American Journal of Public Health Jun 1979
Topics: Female; Humans; Neural Tube Defects; Pregnancy; Prenatal Diagnosis; alpha-Fetoproteins
PubMed: 87133
DOI: 10.2105/ajph.69.6.552 -
The New England Journal of Medicine Mar 1986
Topics: Humans; Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes; alpha-Fetoproteins
PubMed: 2419754
DOI: 10.1056/NEJM198603133141118 -
British Medical Journal (Clinical... Apr 1983
Topics: Female; Humans; Pregnancy; Pregnancy, Ectopic; alpha-Fetoproteins
PubMed: 6188510
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.286.6373.1247 -
Clinical Biochemistry Jun 2018Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) measurement in pericardial, peritoneal (ascites), and pleural fluids is sometimes requested by clinicians as supportive evidence in the... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
OBJECTIVES
Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) measurement in pericardial, peritoneal (ascites), and pleural fluids is sometimes requested by clinicians as supportive evidence in the evaluation of suspected malignancy. As commercially available, Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared AFP assays are not validated for these fluid types, laboratories must complete additional validation studies to comply with regulatory requirements for body fluid testing. The objective of this study was therefore to conduct a matrix evaluation for these body fluid types using the Beckman Access AFP assay on the UniCel DxI 800 immunoassay system.
DESIGN AND METHODS
Using an Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved protocol, previously collected pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid, pleural fluid, and serum specimens were de-identified and frozen at -20 °C prior to matrix evaluation experiments. Spiked recovery, mixed recovery/linearity, and precision studies were conducted.
RESULTS
In spiked and mixed recovery studies, the average percent (%) recovery was within predefined acceptable limits (±15%) for all three body fluids. Linearity was observed over the analytical measurement range (AMR) for all three body fluids (slope, intercept, systematic error): pericardial 0.988, -0.1, 6.1%; peritoneal 0.986, 0.0, 4.1%; and pleural 1.016, 0.0, 1.6%. Imprecision was ≤6.0% CV for all three body fluids at both high and low AFP concentrations.
CONCLUSIONS
Matrix interference with AFP testing was not observed for pericardial, peritoneal, or pleural fluids on the Beckman UniCel DxI 800 system.
Topics: Ascitic Fluid; Automation, Laboratory; Humans; Immunoassay; Pericardial Fluid; Pleural Effusion; Reproducibility of Results; alpha-Fetoproteins
PubMed: 29684369
DOI: 10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2018.04.019 -
Gastroenterology Apr 1990Persistently elevated alpha-fetoprotein levels were found in a 43-yr-old man in the absence of any specific pathology. Elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein levels were...
Persistently elevated alpha-fetoprotein levels were found in a 43-yr-old man in the absence of any specific pathology. Elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein levels were subsequently found in three first-degree relatives, two siblings, and one daughter. This represents the third documented family with hereditary persistence of alpha-fetoprotein. The pedigree is consistent with an autosomal dominant inheritance. Such elevated alpha-fetoprotein levels may be difficult to interpret in patients being screened for malignancy or in maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein screening programs. This rare genetic condition seems benign, with no discernable disease or functional abnormality noted in follow-up over a 6-mo period.
Topics: Adult; Female; Genes, Dominant; Humans; Male; Pedigree; alpha-Fetoproteins
PubMed: 1690155
DOI: 10.1016/0016-5085(90)90037-2 -
Cell Biology International 2004The (H) human growth-promoting factor, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), has been reported to possess a growth inhibitory motif as an occult epitope in the compactly folded... (Review)
Review
The (H) human growth-promoting factor, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), has been reported to possess a growth inhibitory motif as an occult epitope in the compactly folded circulating form of the protein. Intermediate unfolded forms of the human HAFP molecule induced by stress, shock, and high ligand concentrations have revealed the presence of an encrypted growth-suppressive segment on the third domain of HAFP. A purified linear synthetic 34-mer segment termed the "growth inhibitory peptide" (GIP) exhibits various oligomeric forms with complex aggregation behaviors, in which dominant trimeric forms were found to be suppressive in assays of estrogen-induced growth. While several amino acid analogs of the cysteines of the GIP retained inhibitory activity, heavy metal binding and pre-incubation of the peptides with a variety of cations and hormone ligands were found to influence the outcomes of growth bioassays. Smaller segments of the original 34-mer were each found to display growth activities of their own, with the middle segment (P149b) also showing hydrophobic dye-binding properties. Studies of amino acid sequence identity further revealed that the GIP sequences displayed identity/similarity matches to both cytoplasmic and nucleus-cytoskeleton-associated proteins, and experimental evidence served to support these findings. That is, the peptide was capable of modulating tubulin polymerization, cell shape, and cell-surface aggregation phenomena reminiscent of a microtubule-associated protein. Immunofluorescence studies further pinpointed the localization of the GIP to cytoplasmic regions of high cytoskeletal density in the cell. Because of the involvement of the GIP in experimental models of the estrogen receptor/cytoskeleton, a mechanism of action is forwarded in which the linear GIP is proposed to be a G-coupled receptor binding ligand that is translocated across the plasma membrane via receptor-mediated endocytosis. Thus, it was predicted that the linear GIP and possibly its peptidic segments serve as decoy ligands to cell-surface receptors in order to gain access to the cytoplasmic compartment of the cell.
Topics: Amino Acid Motifs; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Binding Sites; Cytoskeleton; Female; Growth Inhibitors; Humans; Ligands; Microtubules; Molecular Sequence Data; Peptide Fragments; Receptors, Estrogen; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Uterus; alpha-Fetoproteins
PubMed: 15566961
DOI: 10.1016/j.cellbi.2004.09.005 -
American Journal of Obstetrics and... Aug 1992Although alpha-fetoprotein may play a role in fetal immune function or in maintenance of osmotic pressure, its exact function is unknown. We report two infants...
Although alpha-fetoprotein may play a role in fetal immune function or in maintenance of osmotic pressure, its exact function is unknown. We report two infants documented to have congenital deficiency of alpha-fetoprotein. One infant had cord blood levels less than 0.5 ng/ml. The second infant had a neonatal level of 120 ng/ml, which is about 2% of the usual concentration for a term newborn. These infants document the existence of congenital deficiency of serum alpha-fetoprotein. Because it is homologous to albumin, congenital deficiency of alpha-fetoprotein may be analogous to analbuminemia, a benign genetic trait.
Topics: Adult; Female; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Metabolism, Inborn Errors; Osmolar Concentration; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Outcome; alpha-Fetoproteins
PubMed: 1379776
DOI: 10.1016/s0002-9378(11)91441-0 -
Archives of Disease in Childhood Apr 1987The dearth of plasma alpha fetoprotein reference ranges for preterm infants often impairs the clinical interpretation of plasma alpha fetoprotein data collected from ill...
The dearth of plasma alpha fetoprotein reference ranges for preterm infants often impairs the clinical interpretation of plasma alpha fetoprotein data collected from ill babies. This study tested our hypothesis that meaningful plasma reference ranges could be established for preterm infants by a simple correction of patient age at sampling date for gestational age deficit at birth. Using a modified radioimmunoassay kit method, determinations of alpha fetoprotein were performed on capillary and venous blood samples collected from 56 babies aged from birth to 5 months with gestational ages ranging from 26 weeks to 43 weeks. Unmodified plasma alpha fetoprotein values were grouped according to patient age and examined statistically using established normal theory methods, but these yielded excessively wide reference intervals and non-Gaussian distribution parameters. Acceptable reference ranges were derived using logarithmic transformation of plasma alpha fetoprotein values and rearrangement against patient age corrected for gestational age deficit. These provisional reference ranges for plasma alpha fetoprotein in preterm (and term) infants are applied to groups of previously meaningless alpha fetoprotein results and used to test the potential usefulness of plasma alpha fetoprotein determination as a diagnostic marker in biliary atresia, hepatitis, and yolk sac derived tumours.
Topics: Female; Gestational Age; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Mathematics; alpha-Fetoproteins
PubMed: 2439023
DOI: 10.1136/adc.62.4.362 -
The Journal of Nuclear Medicine and... 1989