RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Serum levels and genotype distribution of α<sub>1</sub>-antitrypsin in the general population
JF Thorax
JO Thorax
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Thoracic Society
SP 669
OP 674
DO 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2011-201321
VO 67
IS 8
A1 Ilaria Ferrarotti
A1 Gian Andri Thun
A1 Michele Zorzetto
A1 Stefania Ottaviani
A1 Medea Imboden
A1 Christian Schindler
A1 Arnold von Eckardstein
A1 Lucia Rohrer
A1 Thierry Rochat
A1 Erich W Russi
A1 Nicole M Probst-Hensch
A1 Maurizio Luisetti
YR 2012
UL http://thorax.bmj.com/content/67/8/669.abstract
AB Rationale α1-Antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is one of the commonest rare respiratory disorders worldwide. Diagnosis, assessment of risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and management of replacement therapy require the availability of precise and updated ranges for protein serum levels.Objective This paper aims to provide ranges of serum AAT according to the main genotype classes in the general population.Methods The authors correlated mean AAT serum levels with the main SERPINA1 variants (M1Ala/M1Val (rs6647), M3 (rs1303), M2/M4 (rs709932), S (rs17580) and Z (rs28929474)) in 6057 individuals enrolled in the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA) cohort.Results The following ranges (5th–95th percentile) of AAT were found in the serum (g/litre): 1.050–1.640 for PI*MM, 0.880–1.369 for PI*MS, 0.730–1.060 for PI*SS, 0.660–0.997 for PI*MZ and 0.490–0.660 for PI*SZ. There was very little overlap in AAT serum levels between genotype classes generally not believed to confer an enhanced health risk (MM and MS) and those associated with an intermediate AAT deficiency and a potentially mildly enhanced health risk (SS, MZ).Conclusion This work resulted in three important findings: technically updated and narrower serum ranges for AAT according to PI genotype; a suggestion for a population-based ‘protective threshold’ of AAT serum level, used in decision-making for replacement therapy; and more precise ranges framing the intermediate AAT deficiency area, a potential target for future primary prevention.