e. corresponding to plasma with 1·2 µg/ml when the 60-fold dilution was used. This is considerably below the lowest value encountered in the cohort of 105 blood donors, as described below. While dose-related signals were seen after adding rCCP1-CCP2-SP, signals comparable to background were seen when rMAp44 or rMASP-3 were added instead (not shown). The selectivity was also confirmed by adding each of these three proteins to plasma before dilution for the MASP-1 assay. Only the EGFR inhibitor review addition of rCCP1-CCP2-SP gave an additive response. Plasma from 105 blood donors were analysed in order to determine the normal variation

in MASP-1 and the results are shown in Fig. 1c. The levels of MASP-1 were not distributed normally, but were distributed log-normally, and Fig. 1d illustrates

the normal distribution of the log-transformed values. The median was 10·7 µg/ml (quartile range 8·5–12·6 µg/ml), mean 11·1 µg/ml, with a minimal value of 4·2 µg/ml and a maximal value of 29·8 µg/ml. In three healthy individuals we compared the levels obtained when testing serum, EDTA, citrate and heparin plasma taken consecutively from the same person. Figure 2a shows that for all three individuals Selumetinib clinical trial comparable values were seen in serum and citrate plasma, whereas heparin plasma showed higher values (mean 153%; range 137–168%) than serum. Slightly lower values were seen in EDTA plasma compared to serum. A possible difference between serum and EDTA plasma levels was studied further by comparing the values of corresponding serum and EDTA plasma samples from 35 normal healthy individuals. While there was excellent correlation (r = 0·83, P < 0·0001), the serum values (mean, 14·1 µg/ml) are, on average, 1·5

times higher than the EDTA plasma values (mean, 9·4 µg/ml) (Fig. 2b). Proteins in a serum sample were separated by GPC and the fractions were tested for MASP-1 content. When fractionation was performed at a physiological salt concentration in a calcium-containing Tris buffer we found the MASP-1 to be present in a major symmetrical peak (Fig. 3a) eluting at 11–14 ml, with the highest concentration at 12·5 ml at an estimated apparent Mr of approximately 600 kDa. Metalloexopeptidase This could represent MASP-1 in complex with MBL, H-ficolin and L-ficolin, as these molecules elute in the same range. These recognition molecules all elute over several fractions, but only peak positions are indicated on the figure. When we fractionated serum in a buffer known to dissociate MBL/MASP complexes (i.e. containing EDTA and high salt concentration), we found MASP-1 to elute after 16 ml at a position corresponding to ∼75 kDa (Fig. 3b). This could represent the polypeptide chain of MASP-1 (theoretically, 77 kDa based on amino acid composition only). The concentration of MASP-1 in sequential samples obtained from four apparently healthy individuals during a 50-day period was evaluated. As evident from Fig.