AVC Contact: Andrea Battison, AVCLSC

Acute phase proteins are proteins in the blood of animals (vertebrates) whose concentration increases in the early stages of inflammatory diseases (e.g., from infection, trauma).  By measuring the levels of these proteins in the blood, it is possible to detect inflammation/disease that may otherwise go unnoticed.  This project involved isolating lectins in lobster hemolymph that may act as acute phase proteins and developing an assay to measure levels of a selected lectin in hemolymph samples.