Original paper
Acute phase proteins in rheumatic diseases – merely the markers of inflammation?

The acute phase response belongs to the mechanisms of the innate immune system. Serum levels of acute phase proteins (APP) change in response to acute and chronic inflammation (present in many rheumatic disorders), but their function is not limited to being a markers of inflammatory process.
The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between the fucosylation of α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) and α1-antichymotrypsin (ACT), and the clinical and laboratory parameters of disease activity in 72 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
We observed a strong positive correlation between AGP-FR and ACT-FR in the investigated group. A comparison of AGP and ACT concentrations with the degree of fucosylation of each protein did not revealed any relationship. Moreover, the degree of fucosylation of both proteins was higher in men than in women. Beside a weak association between AGP-FR and ACT-FR and RADAI (Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity Index), no correlations were observed between disease activity and AGP-FR or ACT-FR.
Changed fucosylation of APP in rheumatoid arthritis patients is an example of active role played by these glycoproteins in modulation and regulation of inflammatory response.