abstract
- The response of prothrombin to inflammatory reactions was investigated in rats. Inflammation was induced by the administration of either subcutaneous turpentine or intraperitoneal endotoxin, and its effects were studied 24 h and 48 h later. Albumin and alpha 1-acute-phase globulin served as the controls. There were only insignificant changes in plasma prothrombin concentration during inflammation which contrasts sharply with a decrease in circulating albumin by approximately 25% and an increase in alpha 1-acute-phase globulin by 300-400%. These changes were paralleled by similar changes in the incorporation of [3H]lysine into these proteins during the incubation of liver slices from rats that had been pretreated with the phlogistic agents. Prothrombin catabolism, studied using 131I-prothrombin, was increased by approximately 20%; albumin turnover, studied simultaneously with 125I-albumin, was not significantly affected, though the capillary transfer rate of albumin was significantly elevated 48 h after the induction of inflammation. It is concluded that rat prothrombin is not an acute-phase protein.