Human serum Zn-alpha 2-glycoprotein in renal disease.

The serum concentrations of Zn-alpha 2-glycoprotein (ZnaGP) were found to be increased in renal patients with both normal and restricted function; in the latter they showed significant correlation with serum creatinine and urea levels and a decrease after haemodialysis. Renal clearance of ZnaGP studied in four subjects was found to be from 0.1 to 0.8 per cent of that of inulin, and its excretion fraction was inversely proportional to the level of inulin clearance. The significance of the association of hyper-ZnaGP-aemia with renal pathology is unknown; it is supposed to be due rather to some defect in metabolic function of the kidney (utilization or degradation) than to restricted excretion, and its decrease after haemodialysis-with dialysis membrane not permeable to ZnaGP - to be caused by other factors than by the removal of the protein from the body.