title: Increased plasma decay-accelerating factor levels in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.
abstract: Decay-accelerating factor (DAF) is a complement regulatory membrane protein that is often absent from the cell surface of blood cells in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). DAF has also recently been found in the body fluids of healthy individuals. However, its precise structure and biological significance are not yet clear. To clarify the clinical and pathological implications of free DAF, we measured plasma DAF levels in PNH patients, using a newly developed quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), with a measurable range between 0.2-12 ng, for soluble DAF. ELISA assays revealed significantly increased plasma DAF levels in PNH patients (258 +/- 150 ng/ml, mean +/- S.D., n = 9) as compared with healthy controls (80 +/- 41 ng/ml, n = 17) (p less than 0.01). Taken together with the finding that DAF is synthesized in and released extracellularly from affected PNH cells, plasma DAF levels would be useful for clinical diagnosis and for the quantitative evaluation of the clonal expansion of affected cells in PNH.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Kumamoto University Medical School, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakakuma
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagakura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Horikawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kagimoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawakita
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tomita
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takatsuki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018958:CD55 Antigens; D003169:Complement Inactivator Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D006457:Hemoglobinuria, Paroxysmal / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D018958:CD55 Antigens; D003169:Complement Inactivator Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins