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Clinical Chemistry 46: 1099-1105, 2000;
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(Clinical Chemistry. 2000;46:1099-1105.)
© 2000 American Association for Clinical Chemistry, Inc.


Articles

Quantification and Characterization of Pregnancy-associated Complexes of Angiotensinogen and the Proform of Eosinophil Major Basic Protein in Serum and Amniotic Fluid

Michael Christiansen1,a, Irakli Jaliashvili1, Michael T. Overgaard2, Christian Ensinger3, Peter Obrist3 and Claus Oxvig2

1 Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Statens Serum Institut, 5 Artillerivej, Copenhagen DK 2300 S, Denmark.

2 Department of Molecular and Structural Biology, University of Aarhus, 8000 Åarhus, Denmark.

3 Department of Pathology, University of Innsbruck, A 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
a Author for correspondence. Fax 45-3-2683878; e-mail mic{at}ssi.dk


   Abstract
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
 
Background: The proform of eosinophil major basic protein (ProMBP) exists in serum from pregnant women complexed with a variable fraction of angiotensinogen (Ang). A subfraction further binds complement C3dg in a 2:2:2 complex. The function, physiology, and clinical importance of ProMBP complexes are unknown, and the specific quantification of these complexes has not been possible.

Methods: We developed an ELISA for the ProMBP/Ang complexes, using a monoclonal antibody against ProMBP for capture and a chicken anti-human Ang antiserum for detection. Calibrators were standardized with WHO IRP 78/610 for pregnancy proteins in the assay range 0.95–15.6 mIU/L.

Results: The concentrations of ProMBP/Ang complexes in serum of nonpregnant blood donors (n = 79) were log-normally distributed with a central 95th interval of 985-3655 mIU/L. In pregnancy, mean serum concentrations were increased from week 7, and the concentrations reached term concentrations in week 18. ProMBP/Ang complexes eluted in gel filtration as a broad peak with a molecular mass of ~230 kDa. The concentration of ProMBP/Ang/C3dg increased during blood coagulation, suggesting that the ProMBP/Ang/C3dg complex may be a marker of complement activation.

Conclusions: ProMBP/Ang complexes are present in serum from nonpregnant persons as well as pregnant women, and the direct assays described here will make it possible to study the biochemistry and the clinical significance of different ProMBP complexes in pathological conditions and pregnancy.


   Introduction
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
 
The eosinophil major basic protein (MBP)1 contained within the specific granules of the eosinophil leukocyte is the most abundant of a group of cationic proteins involved in the defense against parasitic infections and in the pathogenesis of bronchial hypersensitivity in asthma (1). In the eosinophils, the 117-residue MBP is generated by proteolytic cleavage of ProMBP (2)(3). The 90-residue propiece of ProMBP is highly acidic and is believed to neutralize the toxicity of MBP before processing (4). In pregnancy, placental X cells also synthesize ProMBP (5)(6), but no cleavage is believed to occur. Rather, ProMBP (molecular mass ~39 kDa) is secreted into the circulation where covalent complexes between ProMBP and other proteins have been identified: a 2:2 complex (molecular mass ~480 kDa) with pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) (7)(8); a 2:2 complex (molecular mass ~200 kDa) with angiotensinogen (Ang) (9); and a 2:2:2 complex (molecular mass ~280 kDa) with Ang and complement C3dg (9). Thus, ProMBP forms complexes with three important bioactive molecules, i.e., PAPP-A, recently described as the insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-4 protease in embryonic fibroblasts and follicular fluid of the ovary, and thus involved in regulation of growth (10)(11); Ang, the substrate for renin and involved in local renin-angiotensinogen systems (RAS) in placenta (12), decidua (13), and other tissues; and complement C3d, a very reactive B-cell stimulant (14).

Normal serum contains MBP immunoreactivity (15), and in patients with hypereosinophilia (16), the activity is increased. Furthermore, amniotic fluid contains high MBP immunoreactivity (17). The synthesis of ProMBP is known to occur in cells other than placental X cells and eosinophil precursor cells (18), but whether ProMBP or MBP is released into the circulation from these sources is unknown. An increase in the serum concentration of ProMBP in pregnant women has been suggested to precede the onset of labor (19)(20), but this finding is not constant. The maternal serum concentration of PAPP-A/ProMBP is reduced in the first trimester when the fetus is carrying chromosomal trisomy 21 (21). Recently, the total concentration of ProMBP in the maternal circulation has been found to be a marker of fetal chromosomal disease (22).

Methods of varying analytical precision and sensitivity have been available for the analysis of ProMBP/PAPP-A complexes (21)(23) because PAPP-A is an established first-trimester maternal serum marker for Down syndrome, and many of the assays developed determine PAPP-A/ProMBP and other ProMBP-containing complexes simultaneously as well as other pregnancy proteins (23)(24)(25). However, direct assays for the other complexes have not been available, so that information concerning reference intervals, normal physiology, and variations in pathological conditions has been scarce.

In this study, we developed and characterized a sandwich immunoassay for ProMBP/Ang complexes and developed assays for ProMBP/C3dg complexes and the total concentration of ProMBP complexes to study their relationship with ProMBP/Ang complexes. In addition, we characterized the antigen detected by the ProMBP/Ang assay, established reference intervals for nonpregnant adults, and describe development through gestation.


   Materials and Methods
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
 
Serum samples
Serum samples from pregnant women (n = 75) and paired serum and K2EDTA-plasma samples from 17 pregnant women were obtained from a prenatal screening program for severe malformations, infections, and Down syndrome at Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark. Serum samples (n = 79) from blood donors, 39 women and 40 men, were obtained from Rigshospitalet, National State Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark. Samples were obtained anonymously, and only gender and age (blood donors) and gestational age and maternal age (pregnant women) were recorded for the samples. Samples were collected as part of other studies or quality-control schemes, and sampling of donor samples was approved by the Scientific Ethics Committee of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg Counties and conducted according to the Helsinki II Declaration.

Reagents
Antibodies.
A monoclonal antibody, 234-10, raised against the complex between PAPP-A and ProMBP and reactive with the ProMBP part of the complex (26), was used as the capture antibody. Antibody 234-10 also reacts with MBP purified from eosinophil granules (Christiansen et al., unpublished results). A polyclonal chicken antiserum was raised against human Ang (Calbiochem 176870; Calbiochem-Novabiochem) and used for detection. Briefly, three hens were immunized weekly, five times each, with 15 µg of Ang in Freund’s incomplete adjuvant. After 5 weeks, the titer, tested in direct ELISA with 0.5 µg of Ang per well, reached a maximum, and the antiserum was used in the experiments. The antiserum was tested against {alpha}1-chymotrypsin, plasminogen, antithrombin III, {alpha}1-antitrypsin, haptoglobin, complement C3, and purified PAPP-A/ProMBP. A slight cross-reaction was found, most prominent with {alpha}1-antithrombin III, with a cross-reactivity <0.3% in direct ELISA, when wells were coated with 0.5 mg/L protein in carbonate buffer, pH 9.6. A polyclonal rabbit antiserum against highly purified PAPP-A/ProMBP was produced using standard procedures. Anti-chicken immunoglobulin conjugated with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was obtained from Sigma (cat. no. A9046). Peroxidase-conjugated rabbit anti-human complement C3d was obtained from Dako A/S (cat. no. P387; Dako).

Calibrators and controls.
Calibrators were produced from a 40-week pregnancy serum pool diluted in dilution buffer [0.5 mol/L NaCl, 2.7 mmol/L KCl, 1.5 mmol/L KH2PO4, 6.5 mmol/L Na2HPO4, 10 mL/L Triton X-100 (pH 7.2), and 10 g/L bovine serum albumin (cat. no. A4503; Sigma)], and calibrated against the third-trimester pregnancy pooled serum-derived WHO IRP 78/610 for pregnancy-associated proteins (WHO International Laboratory for Biological Standards, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark) (27). The contents of the ampoule were dissolved in 750 µL of distilled water to give a concentration of 100 IU/L as defined for schwangeschafts protein 1 and recommended for other pregnancy proteins (27). No weight-based standard is available for ProMBP complexes, but data from two other studies (9)(27) made it possible to calculate an approximate conversion factor between IU and mass units under the reasonable assumption that the only quantitatively important ProMBP complexes are PAPP-A/ProMBP and ProMBP/Ang complexes. The total concentration of ProMBP monomer (molecular mass ~39 kDa) in gestational week 25 (~100 IU/L) has been found to be ~375 nmol/L (14.25 mg/L) (9), and the concentration of the PAPP-A/ProMBP complex (molecular mass ~480 kDa) is ~45 mg/L at term (27); therefore, an estimate of 1 IU of ProMBP/Ang (molecular mass ~200 kDa) is ~0.25 mg. A mass unit of total ProMBP complexes cannot be given because that depends on the distribution of ProMBP on complexes containing PAPP-A or Ang. Three control samples, representing low, medium, and high concentrations of ProMBP/Ang complexes, were prepared from a first-trimester delipidated serum pool (for the low value) and a second-trimester delipidated serum pool (for the medium and high values). Dilution buffer was used as the serum calibrator.

Proteins.
Haptoglobin (Calbiochem 372022; Calbiochem-Novabiochem), complement C3 (cat. no. C-2910; Sigma), {alpha}1-chymotrypsin (Calbiochem 178196), plasminogen (Calbiochem 528180), antithrombin III (Calbiochem 169756), and {alpha}1-antitrypsin (Calbiochem 178251) were obtained commercially. PAPP-A/ProMBP was purified from term pregnancy serum as described previously (8).

Procedures
Enzyme immunoassay for ProMBP/Ang complexes.
Maxisorp polystyrene microtiter plates (Nunc) were coated with 500 ng of anti-ProMBP, 234-10, in 100 µL of coating buffer [15 mmol/L Na2CO3, 35 mmol/L NaHCO3 (pH 9.6)] overnight at 4 °C. Plates were washed once in wash buffer [2.5 mmol/L NaH2PO4, 7.5 mmol/L Na2HPO4, 145 mmol/L NaCl (pH 7.2), 0.5 mL/L Tween 20], and then 100 µL of calibrators (ranging from 0.98 to 31.25 mIU/L), controls, or appropriately diluted samples (in dilution buffer) were added and incubated for 2 h at room temperature with slow shaking. Serum samples from nonpregnant persons were diluted 1:500, samples from pregnant women in the first trimester were diluted 1:2000, and samples from pregnant women in second trimester were diluted 1:10 000. After washing, 100 µL of chicken antiserum against human Ang, SSI 233, was diluted 1:300 in dilution buffer and incubated for 1 h at room temperature with slow shaking. After the wells were washed again, bound antibody was detected by incubation with rabbit anti-chicken immunoglobulin-HRP diluted 1:2000 in dilution buffer for 1 h at room temperature. Color was developed using 4 g/L o-phenylenediamine in citrate buffer, pH 5.0, with 3 mL/L H2O2 (Merck). The reaction was stopped with 200 µL of 2 mol/L H2SO4, and the absorbance at 490 nm was measured using a VICTORTM (Wallac, EG&G Life Sciences) spectrophotometer; after subtraction of the absorbance at 620 nm, the calibrators were analyzed with a spline algorithm on logarithmically transformed data, and a calibration curve was produced. The calibration curve was used to calculate sample concentrations. All samples were analyzed in duplicate. When the CV between two measurements on the same sample exceeded 10%, the sample was rerun.

Enzyme immunoassay for ProMBP/C3dg complexes.
The enzyme immunoassay for ProMBP/C3dg complexes was performed as for the ProMBP/Ang complex with the modification that calibrators of 3.9, 7.8, 31.25, 125, 500, and 1000 mIU/L were used, and the detection antibody was HRP-conjugated rabbit anti-human complement C3d (cat. no. P387; Dako A/S) diluted 1:2000 in dilution buffer. Detection and data acquisition were as described above. Within the assay range, the interassay CV was <5%. No reaction was found with haptoglobin, complement C3, {alpha}1-antitrypsin, {alpha}1-antichymotrypsin, plasminogen, or antithrombin III.

Enzyme immunoassay for all ProMBP complexes.
The enzyme immunoassay for all ProMBP complexes was performed as for the other immunoassays, except that the capture antibody was rabbit polyclonal anti-ProMBP/PAPP-A developed at Statens Serum Institut against highly purified ProMBP/PAPP-A. Detection was performed with anti-ProMBP (antibody 234-10) and anti-mouse immunoglobulin-HRP conjugate as described above. The calibrators used were 3.9, 7.8, 31.25, 125, 500, and 1000 mIU/L. Within this range, the interassay CV was <5%. Data management was as described above. There was no reaction with haptoglobin, complement C3, {alpha}1-antitrypsin, {alpha}1-antichymotrypsin, plasminogen, or antithrombin III.

Gel filtration chromatography (GFC).
GFC was carried out on a SigmaChrom GFC-1300 column (300 x 7.5 mm; Supelco) at 25 °C with a mobile phase of 0.1 mol/L sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, containing 0.1 mol/L NaCl; the flow rate was 0.5 mL/min. Samples [100 µL; serum diluted fivefold in mobile phase and filtered through 0.22 µm PTFE filter (Scientific Resources)] were injected. The column effluent was monitored at 280 nm, and 0.5-mL fractions were collected. The total run time was 40 min, and fractions were collected from 8 to 28 min. The column was run on a Pharmacia-LKB HPLC system (Pharmacia-LKB Biotechnology). Chromatographic runs were performed and data analyzed using HPLC manager software (Pharmacia-LKB Biotechnology) and Nelson Model 2600 Chromatography Software (Perkin-Elmer, Nelson Systems). The column was calibrated with the High Molecular Weight Gel Filtration Calibration Kit (Pharmacia Biotech).

Anion-exchange chromatography (AEC).
AEC was carried out on a Poros 20 HQ column (100 x 4.6 mm; Perseptive Biosystems) at 25 °C with the following mobile phases: buffer A, 0.1 mol/L sodium phosphate buffer containing 0.1 mol/L NaCl; and buffer B, 0.1 mol/L sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, containing 2.0 mol/L NaCl. The flow rate was 3 mL/min. Samples [100 µL; serum diluted fivefold in buffer A and filtered through 0.22 µm PTFE filter (Scientific Resources)] were injected. Three min after injection, a gradient from 0% to 100% buffer B over 7 min was applied, followed by 5 min of buffer A. The total run time was 15 min; the column effluent was monitored at 280 nm, and 2-mL fractions were collected. The column was run on the same system as the GFC above.

Heparin affinity chromatography.
Heparin affinity chromatography was performed using 10-mL Prosep®-Heparin affinity matrix (Bioprocessing). The matrix was equilibrated with starting buffer A (0.1 mol/L sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, containing 0.1 mol/L NaCl) and operated at a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min. Serum (1 mL) was diluted with 1 mL of starting buffer and injected onto the column. The column was washed with buffer A, and elution was started at 70 min with 75% buffer B (0.1 mol/L sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, containing 2 mol/L NaCl). The total run time was 100 min. Single fractions were obtained through the washing phase, and the high-salt eluate was pooled and concentrated.

Statistics
Groups were compared using the Mann–Whitney U-test. Paired samples were compared using the matched sign test. Compatibility with a gaussian distribution was assessed by probit diagrams and the Shapiro–Wilk test.


   Results
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
 
Evaluation of the ProMBP/Ang ASSAY
Detection limit.
The detection limit was estimated as the concentration of ProMBP/Ang giving a signal equivalent to that of the zero calibrator + 2 SD. In Fig. 1 is shown an extended calibration curve for the assay, where each point is based on eight determinations. The precision profile (CV) is also shown in Fig 1 . The detection limit was 0.37 mIU/L.



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Figure 1. Calibration curve ({blacksquare}) and precision profile ({square}) of the ProMBP/Ang assay.

The dynamic range of the assay was 0.98–15.6 mIU/L.

Calibration curve.
A routine calibration curve for the ProMBP/Ang assay is shown in Fig. 1Up . The working assay range was 0.98–15.6 mIU/L.

Reproducibility.
The intraassay CV, shown in Fig. 1Up , was calculated by measuring four samples in five consecutive ProMBP/Ang assays. At concentrations of 1.8, 4.8, 9.6, and 12 mIU/L, the CVs were 11%, 7.5%, 7.6%, and 12%, respectively.

Parallelism.
The dilution curves for a second-trimester serum with a high ProMBP/Ang concentration, a first-trimester serum sample with a medium ProMBP/Ang concentration, and a normal serum pool with a low concentration of the complex were parallel (data not shown).

Recovery.
When a serum sample with a concentration of 1.77 mIU/L was mixed with serum to reach calculated concentrations of 3.32 or 3.84 mIU/L, the mean (n = 5) recoveries were 100.7%, and 101.2%, respectively. When a serum sample of 9.74 mIU/L was mixed with serum to reach a calculated concentration of 11.8 mIU/L, the mean (n = 5) recovery was 98.8%.

Specificity.
The specificity of the assay was assessed by analyzing the response obtained when measuring commercially available purified Ang, complement C3, {alpha}1-antitrypsin, {alpha}1-chymotrypsin, antithrombin III, plasminogen, and haptoglobin. None of these proteins gave an appreciable response in the assay, nor did semi-purified PAPP-A/ProMBP (data not shown).

Stability.
Serum samples were incubated at different temperatures for up to 14 days as shown in Fig. 2 . ProMBP/Ang was remarkably stable, with a half-life at 56 °C of 3–4 days.



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Figure 2. Stability of ProMBP/Ang complexes exposed to different temperatures.

Temperatures are in °C.

Relationship with ProMBP/C3dg complexes.
We compared the concentrations of ProMBP/Ang with the concentration of ProMBP/C3dg in 17 paired serum and K2EDTA-plasma samples from pregnant women in first trimester. The concentration of ProMBP/C3dg was significantly higher [mean (SD), 49% (31%)] in serum than in plasma (P = 0.0003), suggesting that complement activation or release from cells during clotting may profoundly influence the concentration in serum. There was no significant difference between concentration values in the paired serum and plasma samples for ProMBP/Ang complexes and total ProMBP complexes. Thus, variations in the extent of complement C3dg attachment to ProMBP/Ang complex does not seem to influence the quantification of these complexes.

Concentrations measured
Healthy blood donors.
In all 79 healthy blood donors, ProMBP/Ang was detectable in serum, with a median concentration of 1928 mIU/L (lower quartile, 1469 mIU/L; upper quartile, 2327 mIU/L). The concentrations did not follow a gaussian distribution (Shapiro–Wilk W = 0.9095; P <5 x 10-6) but conformed to a log-normal distribution with a mean (log ProMBP/Ang) of 3.2783 and a SD of 0.1452 (Shapiro–Wilk W = 0.9840; P = 0.781). There was no significant gender difference (Mann–Whitney U-test, P = 0.961). Based on the log-normal distribution, a central 95th interval (985–3655 mIU/L) could be constructed. By comparison, the total concentration of ProMBP complexes was also log-normally distributed with a central 95% interval of 385-1531 mIU/L.

Pregnant women.
The serum concentration in pregnant women increased log-linearly with gestational age (Fig. 3 ). From gestational week 7, the serum concentration of ProMBP/Ang was increased; the majority of pregnant women had serum concentrations above the upper reference limit as defined above for blood donors. A serum concentration of ~100 IU/L, the concentration found at term, was reached in gestational week 18 (Fig. 3 ). The same development over gestational age was seen for the total concentration of ProMBP complexes. The concentrations of ProMBP/Ang and total ProMBP complexes correlated significantly in both blood donors and pregnant women.



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Figure 3. ProMBP/Ang complexes in sera from pregnant women as a function of gestational age.

The horizontal line represents the upper limit of the central 95th interval in blood donors. A concentration of 100 IU/L is the concentration in WHO IRP 78/610, which is made from a third-trimester serum pool.

Amniotic fluid.
In amniotic fluid obtained from gestational age 100–133 days (gestational weeks 14–19), no correlation was found between the concentrations of ProMBP/Ang complexes or ProMBP complexes and gestational age. The median ProMBP/Ang complex concentration was 11 686 mIU/L (interquartile range, 6592–16 326 mIU/L). The median concentration of the total ProMBP complexes was 14 680 mIU/L (interquartile range, 8422–23 410 mIU/L). Thus, the concentrations of the ProMBP/Ang complexes and the total ProMBP complexes in amniotic fluid were ~10–15% of the serum concentrations.

Characterization of ProMBP/Ang COMPLEXES
GFC.
GFC was performed on a serum pool from healthy, nonpregnant women and a pool of serum from women in the first trimester (Fig. 4 ). In both pools, the ProMBP/Ang eluted as a broad peak with a molecular mass of ~230 kDa.



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Figure 4. Gel filtration on a GFC-1300 column of a serum pool from healthy, nonpregnant women (•) and a pool from women in the first trimester of pregnancy ({square}).

Vo, void volume. The numbers indicated by the arrows are molecular masses. The ProMBP/Ang eluted as a broad peak at 232 kDa.

AEC.
Both first-trimester and nonpregnant serum pools contained ProMBP/Ang, and in both cases it was adsorbed to the AEC column. However, the elution profile was slightly different, with the nonpregnant ProMBP/Ang eluting earlier than the first-trimester ProMBP/Ang (Fig. 5 ).



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Figure 5. AEC of a serum pool from women in the first trimester of pregnancy ({blacktriangleup}) and a pool from healthy, nonpregnant women ({circ}) on a Poros 20 HQ column.

Equilibration buffer: 0.1 mol/L sodium phosphate containing 0.1 mol/L NaCl; buffer B: 0.1 mol/L sodium phosphate containing 2.0 mol/L NaCl. The gradient is marked by the line and {blacksquare}.

Heparin affinity chromatography.
In contrast to ProMBP/PAPP-A, the ProMBP/Ang complexes did not bind to the heparin column (data not shown).


   Discussion
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
 
Using one monoclonal antibody, 234-10, against the ProMBP part of PAPP-A/ProMBP and polyclonal antibodies against complement C3d and Ang, we have constructed enzyme immunoassays against three different groups of ProMBP-containing complexes (i.e., ProMBP/Ang with or without complement C3dg, and ProMBP/C3dg), and an assay to measure the total amount of all ProMBP complexes, including PAPP-A/ProMBP. The individual complexes previously have been isolated from serum from pregnant women and characterized by Western blotting and sequence analysis (7)(9). The anti-ProMBP antibody cross-reacts with MBP, but because no complexes of MBP with either Ang or complement C3dg have been found (9), this cannot cause interference. Because the assays are sandwich immunoassays with sequential addition of sample, followed by washing and the addition of anti-Ang or anti-complement C3d antibody, no interference is possible with either Ang or complement C3 and its derivatives unless these are captured by the anti-ProMBP capture antibody. We have thus made an independent immunochemical confirmation of the existence of the above-mentioned ProMBP complexes through the use of two-site immunoassays specific for each of the complexes. Furthermore, we have established the presence of ProMBP/Ang in nonpregnant serum. Using the conversion between mass units and IU given in the Materials and Methods, we can conclude that the median concentration of ProMBP/Ang complexes is ~0.5 mg/L in nonpregnant persons.

The concentrations of all ProMBP complexes and ProMBP/Ang complexes were found to be increased from gestational week 7, and the concentrations increased with gestation to reach the term concentration (100 IU/L) at gestational week 18. This temporal development is similar to that of MBP immunoreactivity, as described previously. It is also similar to that of Ang in pregnancy (28).

The gel filtration profile of ProMBP/Ang complexes (Fig. 4Up ), with a very broad peak eluting at a molecular mass of ~230 kDa in both pregnancy and non-pregnancy sera, is compatible with the previously found stoichiometry of 2:2:2 and 2:2 for complexes with and without complement C3dg, respectively. Similarly, the adsorption to an anion-exchange column at a neutral pH is similar to what has been described earlier (9). The higher concentration of salt necessary to desorb the ProMBP/Ang complexes in pregnancy compared with non-pregnancy serum (Fig. 5Up ) may reflect increased glycosylation/sialylation in pregnancy.

Previously, the C3dg-containing ProMBP complex was found in both pregnancy serum and plasma, but the concentrations were not compared (9). We here document that this complex is produced during the clotting of blood, but to establish whether this complex is only an artifact will require careful studies. The complement C3d-containing complex was present in plasma and amniotic fluid, but samples were not obtained under conditions suitable for avoiding postsampling complement activation; therefore, quantitative results cannot be reported. However, if the ProMBP/C3dg complex is not an artifact, a functional role of ProMBP complexes might be to act as a scavenger for split products from the alternative pathway of complement activation, a function that is very similar to that of {alpha}2-macroglobulin for other immunologically active molecules (29); in that case, ProMBP/C3dg complexes might be a tentative biochemical marker for complement activation. Complement C3dg, which is a strong stimulant of humoral immunity (14), may also be produced in situ, i.e., while attached to ProMBP/Ang, from complement C3b. The complement C3dg moiety could also serve as a ligand, facilitating the binding of the whole complex to complement receptor 2 (30). A complex of two complement C3dg molecules held together by (ProMBP/Ang)2 may be expected to have such a high affinity for the single binding site receptor complement receptor 2 that it could block normal stimulation of the humoral immune response (31). This mechanism could be of importance in controlling the humoral immune system during pregnancy. MBP has been found to be able to modulate complement activation (32)(33)(34), but whether this is also the case for ProMBP remains to be seen.

Whether ProMBP/Ang complexes constitute a part of the pregnancy-associated high-molecular weight Ang (35), HMrA, has been debated (36), but recently it has been documented that ProMBP/Ang complexes can function as renin substrate (37), so it is fair to assume that at least a part of HMrA is ProMBP/Ang complexes. How much of HMrA is ProMBP/Ang complexes remains to be established in quantitative studies. The ProMBP/Ang complexes are not pregnancy specific because the concentration in nonpregnant individuals is 1–5% of the concentration at term. Why the concentration increases during pregnancy is as yet unknown.

In conclusion, the assays described here will, for the first time, make it possible to examine the concentrations of ProMBP/Ang and ProMBP/C3dg in various clinical conditions and to perform studies on the regulation of synthesis in in vitro systems. Furthermore, it will be possible to get a better understanding of the relationship between the maternal serum concentration of ProMBP complexes and fetal chromosomal disease.


   Acknowledgments
 
We acknowledge the excellent technical assistance of Pia Lind and Ulla Skovbye.


   Footnotes
 
1 Nonstandard abbreviations: MBP, eosinophil major basic protein; ProMBP, proform of MBP; PAPP-A, pregnancy-specific plasma protein A; Ang, angiotensinogen; HRP, horseradish peroxidase; GFC, gel filtration chromatography; and AEC, anion-exchange chromatography.


   References
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
 

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