PLASMA AND PLASMA

PROTEINS

By ADAOBI P. OKEKE
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this lecture, the student should be
able to:
 List the components of blood plasma
 Differentiate between blood plasma and serum
 Identify the various plasma proteins
 State the origin of plasma proteins and list their

properties
 Describe the functions of plasma and plasma

proteins
 INTRODUCTION
 Blood is composed of cellular elements which are
suspended in blood plasma. A person who weighs
70kg will have approximately 5L of blood with
about 2L being occupied by the cellular elements
while the remaining 3L is plasma.
 Plasma is that part of the ECF which is contained

within the vascular system.

 It appears as a straw-colored fluid and is

composed mainly of water, but also carries

proteins and small dissolved solutes.
Composition of Plasma
 PLASMA is a dilute solution, which contains 91% to
92% of water and 8% to 9% of solids (of which 7 to
8% is protein) as well as gases.
 The solids are the organic and the inorganic

substances. The table below shows the various

components of blood plasma.
Other important components include: clotting factors
and lipoprotein particles
 The normal plasma concentrations of some
important electrolytes eg sodium, potassium,
calcium and small molecules are almost similar to
those in interstitial fluid because water and small
solutes are freely exchanged across most capillaries.
 However, most capillaries are impermeable to

plasma proteins. This results in a difference in

protein concentration between the plasma and
interstitial fluids such that an oncotic pressure
gradient develops.
 This pressure opposes the filtration of plasma out of

the capillaries.
 The table below shows the normal concentration of

electrolytes and some other importance substances

in the blood:
Normal values of some important substances
in plasma
SUBSTANCE NORMAL RANGE

GLUCOSE 100- 120 mg/dl

CHOLESTEROL Up to 200mg/dl

PLASMA 6.4- 8.3gm/dl

PROTEINS
CALCIUM 4.5- 5.5 mEq/L

SODIUM 135- 145 mEq/L

POTASIUM 3.5- 5.0 mEq/L

MAGNESIUM 1.5- 2.9 mEq/L

CHLORIDE 100- 110 mEq/L

BICARBONATE 22-26 mEq/L

SUBSTANCE NORMAL RANGE
BILIRUBIN 0.5 to 1.5
mg/dL
CREATININE 0.5 to 1.5
mg/dL
IRON 50 to 150 μg/dL
 SERUM
 Serum is the clear yellowish fluid that remains from blood
plasma after clotting factors (such as fibrinogen and
prothrombin) have been removed by clot formation.
 In other words, serum is a component of plasma while
plasma contains serum with clotting factors (coagulants).
 Blood coagulates/clots when collected in a container and
left to stand. The clot occurs due to the conversion of
fibrinogen to fibrin. Blood cells are then trapped in this
fibrin forming the blood clot.
 After about 45 minutes, serum oozes out of the blood
clot.
 For purpose of clinical investigations, serum is separated
from blood cells and clotting elements by centrifuging.
 Volume of the serum is almost the same as that of
plasma (55%).
PLASMA PROTEINS
 The plasma proteins consist of albumin, globulin
(alpha, beta & gamma), and fibrinogen fractions.
They’re the most abundant substances in plasma.
Other proteins found in the plasma include:, α1-
Antiprotease, α-Fetoprotein (found in fetal
blood),ceruloplasmin, Antithrombin-III, Steroid
hormone-binding globulin, Thyroxine-binding
Globulin, C-reactive protein, Haptoglobin,
Hemopexin, Transferrin, Angiotensinogen,
coagulation factors II, VII, IX, X etc
 Normal values of the plasma proteins are:
 Serum albumin : 4.5-5.0 g/dL
 Serum globulin : 1.0- 1.5 g/dL
 Fibrinogen : 0.2- 0.45g/dL
Origin of plasma proteins
 The B lymphocytes produce the gamma globulins,
while most of the other proteins are synthesized
in the reticuloendothelial cells of the liver.
PROPERTIES OF PLASMA PROTEINS
1. MOLECULAR WEIGHT
 Albumin : 69,000
 Globulin : 156,000
 Fibrinogen : 400,000
 Thus, the molecular weight of fibrinogen is

greater than that of other two proteins.

2. SPECIFIC GRAVITY
 Specific gravity of the plasma proteins is 1.026.
Functions of plasma proteins
1. Role in Coagulation Of Blood
2. Role in Defense Mechanism of Body
3. Role in Transport Mechanism
4. Role in Maintenance of Osmotic Pressure In Blood
5. Role in Regulation of Acid-base Balance
6. Role in Viscosity of Blood
7. Role in Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate
8. Role in Suspension Stability of Red Blood Cells
9. Role in Production of Trephone Substances
10. Role as Reserve Proteins
1. ROLE IN COAGULATION OF BLOOD
 Fibrinogen is essential for the coagulation of blood.

2. ROLE IN DEFENSE MECHANISM OF BODY

 Gamma globulins play an important role in the defense

mechanism of the body by acting as antibodies (immune

substances).
 These proteins are also called immunoglobulins. Antibodies

react with antigens of various microorganisms, which cause

diseases like diphtheria, typhoid, streptococcal infections,
mumps, influenza, measles, hepatitis, rubella, polio myelitis,
etc.
3. ROLE IN TRANSPORT MECHANISM
 Plasma proteins are essential for the transport of various

substances in the blood.

 Albumin, alpha globulin and beta globulin are responsible for

the transport of the hormones, enzymes, etc.

 The alpha and beta globulins play an important role in the

transport of metals in the blood.

4. ROLE IN MAINTENANCE OF OSMOTIC PRESSURE IN BLOOD
 At the capillary level, most of the substances are exchanged

between the blood and the tissues.

 However, because of their large size, the plasma proteins

cannot pass through the capillary membrane easily and

remain in the blood. In the blood, these proteins exert the
colloidal osmotic (oncotic) pressure.
 Osmotic pressure exerted by the plasma proteins is about

25 mm Hg.
 Since the concentration of albumin is more than the other

plasma proteins, it exerts maximum pressure.

 Globulin is the next and fibrinogen exerts least pressure

5. ROLE IN REGULATION OF ACID-BASE BALANCE

 Plasma proteins, particularly the albumin, play an important

role in regulating the acid base balance in the blood.

 This is because of the virtue of their buffering action.

 Plasma proteins are responsible for 15% of the buffering

capacity of blood.
6. ROLE IN VISCOSITY OF BLOOD
 Plasma proteins provide viscosity to the blood,

which is important to maintain the blood

pressure.
 Albumin provides maximum viscosity than the

other plasma proteins.

7. ROLE IN ERYTHROCYTE SEDIMENTATION RATE
 Globulin and fibrinogen accelerate the tendency of

rouleaux formation by the red blood cells.

Rouleaux formation is responsible for ESR, which
is an important diagnostic and prognostic tool.
8. ROLE AS RESERVE PROTEINS
 During fasting, inadequate food intake or

inadequate protein intake, the plasma proteins are

utilized by the body tissues as the last source of
energy.
 Plasma proteins are split into amino acids by the

tissue macrophages.
 Amino acids are taken back by blood and

distributed throughout the body to form cellular

protein molecules.
 Because of this, the plasma proteins are called the

reserve proteins.
PLASMAPHERESIS
 This is a procedure in which the plasma is separated from
the blood, discarded in total, and replaced with a
substitution fluid such as albumin or with donated plasma
from a healthy person.
 This also is generally performed to remove toxins or
autoantibodies that have accumulated in the plasma.
 Plasmapheresis is used as a blood purification procedure
for an effective temporary treatment of many
autoimmune diseases.
 It is also called therapeutic plasma exchange.
 In an autoimmune disease, the immune system attacks
the body’s own tissues through antibodies.
 The antibodies that are proteins in nature circulate in the
bloodstream before attacking the target tissues.
 Plasmapheresis is used to remove these antibodies from
the blood.
USES
 Though plasmapheresis is used to remove antibodies
from the blood, it cannot prevent the production of
antibodies by the immune system of the body.
 So, it can provide only a temporary benefit of protecting

the tissues from the antibodies.

 The patients must go for repeated sessions of this

treatment.
 Plasmapheresis is an effective temporary treatment for

the following diseases:

1. Myasthenia gravis – autoimmune disease causing
muscle weakness
2. Thrombocytopenic purpura – bleeding disorder
3. Paraproteinemic peripheral neuropathy- dysfunction of
peripheral nervous system due to an abnormal
immunoglobulin called paraprotein.
4. Chronic demyelinating polyneuropathy –
neurological disorder characterized by progressive
weakness and impaired sensory function in the
legs and arms due to the damage of myelin sheath
in peripheral nerves.
5. GuillainBarré syndrome – autoimmune disease
causing weakness, abnormal sensations (like
tingling) in the limbs and paralysis.
6. LambertEaton myasthenic syndrome –
autoimmune disorder of the neuromuscular
junction.
 VARIATIONS IN PLASMA PROTEIN LEVEL

 Plasma protein levels vary independently of one

another. However, in several conditions, the
quantity of albumin and globulin change in
opposite direction.
 An increase in all fractions of plasma proteins

results in a condition known as hyperproteinemia

and decrease in all fractions of plasma proteins is
called hypoproteinemia. Variations in the level of
plasma proteins are given in the table below:
HYPERPROTEINEMIA HYPOPROTEINEMIA
1.Dehydration 1. Diarrhea
2. Hemolysis 2. Hemorrhage
3. Acute infections 3. Burns
like acute hepatitis 4. Pregnancy
and acute nephritis 5. Malnutrition
4. Respiratory 6. Prolonged
distress syndrome starvation
5. Excess of 7. Cirrhosis of liver
glucocorticoids 8. Chronic infections
6. Leukemia like chronic hepatitis
THANK YOU
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