Serum haptoglobin type and liver cirrhosis.
Haptoglobin phenotypes were studied by a polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis on 200 blood donors and 105 patients with liver cirrhosis, of which 79% belonged to non-alcoholic etiology. Though no difference of haptoglobin types could be found between blood donors with positive and negative hepatitis B antigen, the cirrhois patients had an excess haptoglobin gene 1. The patients with haptoglobin gene 1 were associated with severe liver dysfunction. Since the family pedigrees of the patients with type 1--1 excluded individuals with type 2--2, the phenotypes seemed to be stable in the cirrhotic process. The possibility that the haptoglobin 2 gene offered resistence to the non-alcoholic cirrhosis was discussed.
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications; D001782:Blood Donors; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D002353:Carrier State; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006242:Haptoglobins / Q000032:analysis*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood; D006511:Hepatitis B Antigens; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
D001798:Blood Proteins; D006242:Haptoglobins; D006511:Hepatitis B Antigens