Serum immunoglobulin and acute phase protein concentrations in pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Singapore

The levels of three immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA and IgM), albumin and five acute phase proteins (alpha 1-antitrypsin, haptoglobin, transferrin, alpha 2-macroglobulin and complement 3) were measured by immunoelectrophoresis in the sera of 33 Chinese male patients soon after they were diagnosed to be suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis. These values were compared to those in 41 healthy male controls. Significant increases were observed for IgG and alpha 1-antitrypsin (both p less than 0.001) and haptoglobin and IgM (both p less than 0.01) levels while transferrin and alpha 2-macroglobulin levels were significantly reduced (both p less than 0.02). The results suggest that these changes of plasma protein levels in pulmonary tuberculosis patients may be the result of humoral responses against tubercular antigens.