부산대학교 도서관

It is known that in the human conceptus, serum a1-fetoprotein reaches a maximal concentration at approximately 13 weeks, then decreases and disappears 1 or 2 weeks after birth. In the first step of this workm the existence of a1-fetoprotein has been studied in the serum of three groups of neonates (premature, full term, and small for date). Electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels and immunoelectrophoresis with a specific antibody against human a1-fetoprotein have been chosen: since they have a different degree of sensitivity, they can be used as a semiquantitative test. At birth, small for date infants have no a2-fetopretein or a very low concentration; the concentration is higher in full term babies and still higher in prematures. These observations suggest that a distinction between small for date and premature babies is possible by such a procedure. In the second step of this study. Mancini's immumochemical method for a1-fetoprotein quantitative estimation is in process in order to see, especially in premature babies, whether serum a1-fetoprotein concentration at birth is directly related to the length of gestation. If so, we shall have a simple biological test for the assessment of the gestational age of newborn infants.