The effect of local radiotherapy on kallikrein activity in saliva secreted by parotid gland in patients with head and neck cancers.

The samples of parotid gland saliva, collected from control human subjects and those taken from patients with head and neck cancers were submitted to the assay of protein concentration and kininogenase and amidolytic kallikrein activities. No patients with parotid gland tumours were included. The effect of pilocarpine stimulation on these parameters was studied.

Kallikrein-kinin system in patients with neoplastic diseases.

The concentrations of kininogens, prokallikrein, fibrinogen, plasma protein, proteinase inhibitor antigens, and the kininase, fibrinolytic and antipapain activities in plasma of 29 patients with various tumours (lung cancers, lymphomas, and others) during chemotherapy were measured. The same studies were performed on blood plasma of female patients operated on because of cervical or endometrial carcinoma (37 subjects) and submitted to subsequent local radiotherapy (before and after radiotherapy). A weak activation of kallikrein-kinin system and significant decrease in kininase and fibrinolytic activities were found in those patients.

Plasma kininogen concentration: the low level in cord blood plasma and age dependence in adults.

Antigenic concentration of total kininogen, kinin liberated in vitro, and the antigenic concentration of high molecular weight (HMW) kininogen was measured in 58 different samples of cord blood plasma and in plasma samples from 67 healthy blood donors. Total kininogen and kinin concentration in cord blood plasma was more than twice as low as in pooled plasma of adult persons, and the concentration of HMW-kininogen in cord blood plasma was close to one-third of normal. The concentration of total kininogen and of HMW-kininogen increased with age in adults.

Striking feature of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP): stimulation of the phagocytic capabilities of human blood platelets.

In concentrations from 2.5 x 10(3) to 480 x 10(3) ng/ml AFP is able to increase the phagocytic index and the phagocytizing percentage of human blood platelets in vitro conditions. This effect is dependent on the dose of AFP and time of incubation.

Alpha fetoprotein inhibits aggregation of human platelets.

The effect of human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) on platelet aggregation induced by physiological (ADP, PAF, collagen, arachidonic acid) and aphysiological (ionophore A 23,187) activators was investigated. It was found that AFP at the concentrations of 60-750 micrograms/ml, i.e.