Related Experiment Videos
Is there an unidentified defence mechanism against infection in human plasma?
R Aejmelaeus1, T Metsä-Ketelä, P Laippala
1Department of Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical School, University of Tampere, Finland.
FEBS Letters
|April 15, 1996
Abstract:
The total peroxyl radical scavenging capacity (TRAP) of human plasma was measured from pneumonia patients and controls. TRAP and its main components, ascorbic acid, alpha-tocopherol, uric acid or protein thiol groups, were unaltered, but the concentration of unidentified antioxidants in pneumonia patients was significantly reduced. Our results indicate that human plasma may contain so far unidentified antioxidants depleted in infection.