Seromucoid Fraction Patterns of Individuals with Pneumonia or Leukemia

Chromatographic separations on DEAE cellulose have been carried out on the seromucoid fraction from forty-one normal individuals and twenty-three patients horpitalized with unilateral pneumococcal pneumonia. During the acute stages of their illness, all twenty-three patients showed a very marked difference in their seromucoid pattern as contrasted to the control group, both groups being comparable in age, sex, and race. As the patients recovered, their seromucoid patterns returned to that of the control group. Three patients with bilateral pneumococcal pneumonia showed seromucoid patterns similar to those of the twenty-three patients with unilateral pneumococcal pneumonia. Five individuals with viral pneumonia showed a seromucoid pattern similar to those observed in patients with pneumococcal pneumonia. The data suggested that the seromucoid pattern observed in pneumonia depended upon the stage of the disease of the patient, different patterns being observed during the acute, convalescent, and complete recovery stages. Each stage showed a characteristic pattern. The seromucoid pattern of seven patients with acute leukemia differed from that of the control groups and also differed from that observed in patients with pneumonia. Five individuals with chronic lymphocytic leukemia showed seromucoid patterns which could not be distinguished from those of the control group in spite of the fact that all showed clinical signs of disease at the time the blood sample was drawn for fractionation.