Their nutritional and developmental status was normal at the time of sampling. old, which was higher in male group and IgM in groups of 3C5, 6C8 and 9C11 years old that were higher in female groups. Mean of other serum immunoglobulins and complements was not significantly different between male and female groups. Conclusion: These results can Rabbit polyclonal to ZNF75A be considered as a local reference for use in laboratories, clinical interpretations, and research for Iranian children. Keywords: Reference ranges, Immunoglobulin, Complement components, Iran Introduction Reference values of immunoglobulins (Igs) and complement components (CCs) might be different in each population. These data are essential for researches and making clinical diagnosis in every population (1). The determination of serum Igs constitutes one of the diagnostic approaches in immunological as well as infectious disease. The Taribavirin levels of Igs and CCs might vary in diverse geographical regions due to gender and racial differences. Although these differences are generally not significant, sometimes knowledge of these subtle varieties is critical for clinical explanation (2). To our knowledge, this is the first normal range study for serum IgG, IgM, IgA, C3 and C4 of healthy children in Iran. Three studies on serum Igs in healthy adults exist (two first were performed by means of the RID Mancini and the last by using nephelometry method) (3C5) and also two studies evaluated normal range of serum total IgE in Iranian healthy adults and children (6,7). In addition, in 1997, quantitative serum level measurements of C3, IgG, IgA and IgM were carried out on 102 patients with esophageal carcinoma, in comparison with 66 healthy controls in Iran (8). Many studies have been done for the determination of reference ranges for serum proteins such as Igs in the world (9C15). Newly, a study has been done to evaluate serum Ig G, A, M, G1, G2, G3, and G4 in 148 healthy Thai children aged 2C15 years by nephelometry (16). The aim of the present study was to determine local reference values for serum IgA, IgM, IgG and complement components C3 and C4 by nephelometric methods in healthy Iranian Taribavirin children. Material and Methods Subjects This study was conducted from June 2003 to June 2006 in Immunology, Asthma and Allergy Taribavirin Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. A total of 800 healthy children and adolescents from newborn to 18 years of age were included in this study. They were chosen from healthy cases admitted for minor surgical procedures in the surgical ward of Childrens Medical Center and Imam Khomeini Hospital of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. They were visited by a physician and were confirmed to have no acute or chronic diseases. Their nutritional and developmental status was normal at the time of sampling. Furthermore, a questionnaire was completed for them, which included health status, age, and sex. All of them were from Iranian population and ethnicities such as Fars, Turk, Kurd, and other population such as Arab and Turkmen throughout Iran. Taribavirin From all subjects or their guardians informed consent was obtained. One ml sterile serum was separated from the peripheral blood sample and was frozen at ?80C immediately. The research committee and Ethical Committee of Immunology, Asthma & Allergy Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences approved the studys protocol. Measurement of IgG, IgM, IgA and complement components C3 and C4 Serum Igs, C3 and C4 concentrations were determined by nephelometry methods, according to the instructions described by the manufacturer (Minineph?, The binding site Ltd., Birmingham, UK). Highly lipaemic, turbid or hemolyzed samples were unsuitable for nephelometric measurements and were excluded from the study. Statistical Analysis Normal distribution analysis was done by Kolmogrov-Smirnov tests. Differences in Igs and CC concentrations between males and females and between each population were analyzed with the Mann-Whitney U-test. P-values of less than 0.05 were considered significant. Correlation between age and each factor was concluded by means of the Pearsons correlation test. Results Eight hundred selected subjects, from newborn to 18 years of age, 349 females, and 451 males in 10 age groups were entered in this study. As the raw data of IgA, IgG, IgM, C3 and C4 concentrations did not follow normal distribution (P<0.05), these data were transformed into the natural logarithm for analysis. Normal range for all factors was calculated.