Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Clinical Pathology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Pathology
. 1982 May;35(5):481–486. doi: 10.1136/jcp.35.5.481

Binding of serum ferritin to concanavalin A in patients with iron overload and with chronic liver disease.

R W Chapman, A Gorman, M Laulicht, M A Hussain, S Sherlock, A V Hoffbrand
PMCID: PMC497701  PMID: 7085891

Abstract

Total serum ferritin and the proportion of serum ferritin binding to concanavalin A (glycosylated ferritin) was measured in 18 healthy volunteers and in 84 patients, eight with primary haemochromatosis, 43 with beta-thalassaemia major and secondary iron overload and 33 with chronic liver diseases without iron overload. The total serum ferritin was either equally or even more closely related than either the non-binding or the concanavalin A binding ferritin, to the liver iron concentration in all patients with iron overload, and with the units of blood transfused in non-chelated thalassaemic patients. The total serum ferritin showed a significant correlation with serum aminotransferase for the group of 84 patients. In the thalassaemic patients the ferritin binding to concanavalin A also correlated with aminotransferase. However, in the other groups it was the ferritin not binding to concanavalin A which showed a significant correlation with aminotransferase activity. These results suggest that measuring the fraction of serum ferritin which binds to concanavalin A does not offer any advantage over estimation of the total serum ferritin concentration in the assessment of iron stores in patients wit iron overload and liver damage.

Full text

PDF
481

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Addison G. M., Beamish M. R., Hales C. N., Hodgkins M., Jacobs A., Llewellin P. An immunoradiometric assay for ferritin in the serum of normal subjects and patients with iron deficiency and iron overload. J Clin Pathol. 1972 Apr;25(4):326–329. doi: 10.1136/jcp.25.4.326. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BOTHWELL T. H., BRADLOW B. A., JACOBS P., KEELEY K., KRAMER S., SEFTEL H., ZAIL S. IRON METABOLISM IN SCURVY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ERYTHROPOIESIS. Br J Haematol. 1964 Jan;10:50–58. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1964.tb00677.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Barry M., Sherlock S. Measurement of liver-iron concentration in needle-biopsy specimens. Lancet. 1971 Jan 16;1(7690):100–103. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(71)90838-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Birgegård G. The source of serum ferritin during infection. Studies with concanavalin A--Sepharose absorption. Clin Sci (Lond) 1980 Nov;59(5):385–387. doi: 10.1042/cs0590385. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Chapman R. W., Williams G., Bydder G., Dick R., Sherlock S., Kreel L. Computed tomography for determining liver iron content in primary haemochromatosis. Br Med J. 1980 Feb 16;280(6212):440–442. doi: 10.1136/bmj.280.6212.440. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Cohen A., Cohen I. J., Schwartz E. Scurvy and altered iron stores in thalassemia major. N Engl J Med. 1981 Jan 15;304(3):158–160. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198101153040307. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Cragg S. J., Wagstaff M., Worwood M. Sialic acid and the microheterogeneity of human serum ferritin. Clin Sci (Lond) 1980 Mar;58(3):259–262. doi: 10.1042/cs0580259. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. DENSON K. W., BOWERS E. F. The determination of ascorbic acid in white blood cells. A comparison of W.B.C. ascorbic acid and phenolic acid excretion in elderly patients. Clin Sci. 1961 Oct;21:157–162. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Halliday J. W., Mack U., Powell L. W. The kinetics of serum and tissue ferritins: relation to carbohydrate content. Br J Haematol. 1979 Aug;42(4):535–546. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1979.tb01166.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Houang M. T., Arozena X., Skalicka A., Huehns E. R., Shaw D. G. Correlation between computed tomographic values and liver iron content in thalassaemia major with iron overload. Lancet. 1979 Jun 23;1(8130):1322–1323. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(79)91952-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Letsky E. A., Miller F., Worwood M., Flynn D. M. Serum ferritin in children with thalassaemia regularly transfused. J Clin Pathol. 1974 Aug;27(8):652–655. doi: 10.1136/jcp.27.8.652. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Prieto J., Barry M., Sherlock S. Serum ferritin in patients with iron overload and with acute and chronic liver diseases. Gastroenterology. 1975 Mar;68(3):525–533. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. SCHEUER P. J., WILLIAMS R., MUIR A. R. Hepatic pathology in relatives of patients with haemochromatosis. J Pathol Bacteriol. 1962 Jul;84:53–64. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Walters G. O., Miller F. M., Worwood M. Serum ferritin concentration and iron stores in normal subjects. J Clin Pathol. 1973 Oct;26(10):770–772. doi: 10.1136/jcp.26.10.770. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Wands J. R., Rowe J. A., Mezey S. E., Waterbury L. A., Wright J. R., Halliday J. W., Isselbacher K. J., Powell L. W. Normal serum ferritin concentrations in precirrhotic hemochromatosis. N Engl J Med. 1976 Feb 5;294(6):302–305. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197602052940603. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Wapnick A. A., Lynch S. R., Krawitz P., Seftel H. C., Charlton R. W., Bothwell T. H. Effects of iron overload on ascorbic acid metabolism. Br Med J. 1968 Sep 21;3(5620):704–707. doi: 10.1136/bmj.3.5620.704. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Worwood M., Cragg S. J., Jacobs A., McLaren C., Ricketts C., Economidou J. Binding of serum ferritin to concanavalin A: patients with homozygous beta thalassaemia and transfusional iron overload. Br J Haematol. 1980 Nov;46(3):409–416. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1980.tb05987.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Worwood M., Cragg S. J., Wagstaff M., Jacobs A. Binding of human serum ferritin to concanavalin A. Clin Sci (Lond) 1979 Jan;56(1):83–87. doi: 10.1042/cs0560083. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Worwood M. Serum ferritin. CRC Crit Rev Clin Lab Sci. 1979;10(2):171–204. doi: 10.3109/10408367909147133. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Pathology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES