Plasma fibronectin in sickle cell disease.

Immunoturbidimetric assay technique was used to determine plasma fibronectin concentration in healthy Nigerian children (age 2-14 years), patients with sickle cell disease in steady state and patients with sickle cell disease in crises. Compared with controls, the plasma levels of fibronectin were greatly reduced in patients with sickle cell crises. Values within the normal reference range were seen in the group of patients with sickle cell disease in steady state. The data suggest that the significantly (p less than 0.001) reduced plasma fibronectin in patients with sickle cell crisis may be due to the consumption of this plasma protein in the process of erythrocyte endothelial adhesion.