Protides of the Biological Fluids

Protides of the Biological Fluids contains the proceedings of the XXIVth Colloquium on Protides of the Biological Fluids held in Brugge, Belgium in 1976. Contributors explore relevant findings about protides of biological fluids and discuss topics such as pregnancy-associated proteins, carcino-fetal and carcinoplacental proteins, and molecular amplification. This volume consists of 151 chapters organized into three sections and begins with a discussion of the problems of specific placental and fetal proteins as well as the appearance of these proteins in maternal serum. The biochemistry and structure of human placental lactogen is considered together with its possible application in the diagnosis of abnormal pregnancy and the role of pregnancy specific proteins especially with regard to immunization during pregnancy. The next section focuses on oncofetal proteins, with particular reference to the biological significance of alpha-fetoprotein, its appearance during various types of cancer, and its increase in abnormal pregnancy. The isolation and properties of CEA and related antigens such as TPA, and the importance of their assay in early cancer detection as well as in follow-up studies of patients after surgery or therapy are described. The final section explores the use of molecular amplification in detection of trace amounts of proteins. It explains how radio-immunoassay, RIA, or ELISA can amplify a basic reaction between two molecules and increase its specificity as well as its limits of detection. This book will be of interest to scientists, students, and researchers working in the fields of biology and biochemistry.