Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.3.1.109 (AST)
 6,066 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The systemic administration of interleukin-2 (IL-2) can lead to significant antitumor responses in some patients with metastatic cancer in whom standard therapy has failed. A limitation of this immunotherapy is the toxicity associated with IL-2 infusion. To assess toxicity, we determined aspartate aminotransferase (AST; EC 2.6.1.1), alanine aminotransferase (ALT; EC 2.6.1.2), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT; EC 2.3.2.2), lactate dehydrogenase (LD; EC 1.1.1.27), alkaline phosphatase (ALP; EC 3.1.3.1), creatine kinase (CK; EC 2.7.3.2), total bilirubin (TBI), direct bilirubin (DBI), creatinine, urea nitrogen, and C-reactive protein in serum from 21 patients before and during five consecutive days of IL-2 treatment. Ten patients were followed for an additional five days after the end of IL-2 therapy. The IL-2 infusion caused liver toxicity and prerenal azotemia, as evidenced by significant increases (P less than 0.05) of all analytes except CK by day 1. There was a progressive increase in the results (except CK) for these tests until IL-2 treatment was stopped. Seven tests related to liver function (AST, ALT, GGT, LD, ALP, DBI, and TBI) showed increases, but the test results indicated significant improvement and moved toward the baseline value five days after the end of IL-2 therapy. Concentrations of creatinine and urea nitrogen in serum were normal three days after the cessation of IL-2 therapy.
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PMID:Changes in laboratory results for cancer patients treated with interleukin-2. 231 Dec 9

The proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha are thought to play important roles in the pathophysiology of liver disease. Specific antagonists of these cytokines have been found in recent years. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist is a specific interleukin-1 antagonist. The soluble receptor derived from the cell-surface p55 tumor necrosis factor receptor p55 is a naturally occurring substance that inhibits the biological effects of tumor necrosis factor. We used specific radioimmunoassays to detect circulating interleukin-1 receptor antagonist and tumor necrosis factor soluble receptor p55 levels in 14 patients with acute viral hepatitis and in 160 patients with various chronic liver diseases. Levels of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist and, especially, tumor necrosis factor soluble receptor were markedly increased in most patients with chronic liver disease regardless of pathogenesis and in viral hepatitis. Patients with chronic liver disease and cirrhosis showed significantly higher levels of both cytokine antagonists than did noncirrhotic patients. Correlations between interleukin-1 receptor antagonist and tumor necrosis factor soluble receptor were more significant than those of either antagonist with C-reactive protein or blood sedimentation rate. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist and tumor necrosis factor soluble receptor levels were also positively correlated with bilirubin and AST levels. We conclude that circulating levels of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist and tumor necrosis factor soluble receptor may reflect ongoing disease activity and probably modulate some effects of endogenous interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor.
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PMID:Circulating interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor antagonists in liver disease. 822 19

Severe alcoholic liver injury has been relatively rare, but is gradually increasing in Japan. The clinical features and prognostic factors in severe alcoholic liver injury were retrospectively investigated in 105 patients, consisting of 3 with severe alcoholic hepatitis (SAH), 43 with cirrhosis with superimposed alcoholic hepatitis [liver cirrhosis (LC)+alcoholic hepatitis (AH)], 38 with AH, and 21 with alcoholic cirrhosis. Seven of the 105 patients (6.7%, 2 with SAH and 5 with LC+AH) died of hepatic failure. Patients with SAH showed severe hyperbilirubinemia, reduced hepatic biosynthetic capacity, and marked acute inflammatory reactions, and developed multiple organ failure, such as disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), renal failure, acute pancreatitis, or pneumonia. Two SAH patients died within 1 month, whereas five with LC+AH died within 77 days during the second episode of AH. In these nonsurvivors, the serum total bilirubin (T.Bil) level was not normalized, and the hepaplastin test (HPT), serum albumin, cholesterol, and platelet count were not markedly improved after the first episode of AH. In the survivors, elevation of AST lasted longer, and the improvement of T.Bil, hepatic biosynthetic capacity, and the platelet count were much less in patients with LC+AH than in those with AH. Multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model showed serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and DIC as significant independent prognostic factors among SAH, LC+AH, and AH groups. When factors related to multiple organ failure, such as DIC and renal failure, were excluded, T.Bil and CRP were selected as independent prognostic factors. In patients with LC+AH and AH, CRP, and HPT were shown to be significant independent prognostic factors. These results suggest that SAH with multiple organ failure, and another episode of AH in advanced LC with hyperbilirubinemia and reduced hepatic biosynthetic capacity, are indicative of an extremely poor prognosis in chronic alcoholics.
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PMID:Prognostic factors in severe alcoholic liver injury. Nara Liver Study Group. 1023 76

A 16-year-old Caucasian girl of Albanian origin was admitted to the hospital complaining of intermittent fever (38 degrees C) for a week, nausea, vomiting, and abnormal laboratory findings (elevated serum aminotransferases levels AST/ALT 77/40 U/l and erythrocyte sedimentation rate 80 mm/first hour, as well as leukopenia 2.5 x 10(3)/mm3), which were found in a blood examination. Physical examination revealed slight hepatomegaly and splenomegaly, as well as cervical and axillary lymphadenopathy. A diagnostic open lymph node biopsy was performed and Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD) was established based on the characteristic histological pattern. Other abnormal laboratory findings were C-reactive protein 6.8 mg/dl and serum lactate dehydrogenase 900 U/l. Her history included a diarrhoea syndrome 2 months before the present admission, during the summer holidays, for which she was treated with metronidazole. At that time, characteristic cysts of giardia lamblia intestinalis were observed in the stools. Herein, we present this case hypothesising that the protozoal infection caused by the giardia lamblia intestinalis was probably triggering an immune response leading to KFD. The patient's age in combination with this firstly reported protozoal pathogen, as a triggering agent leading to KFD, consist a very interesting originality. Additionally, some review data is also given.
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PMID:Giardia lamblia intestinalis: a new pathogen with possible link to Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease. An additional element in the disease jigsaw. 1564 21

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma) is a nuclear transcription factor that comprises the primary molecular target for thiazolidinedione (TZD) insulin-sensitizing drugs. Whilst expressed in many tissues in humans, its abundant expression in adipose tissue is believed to be the focal point through which TZDs regulate genes involved in glucose and lipid metabolism and via which these agents ultimately improve the hyperglycemia of type 2 diabetes. However, TZDs exhibit many additional properties, not least an array of effects which suggest a broad attack on the inflammatory process. Thus, TZDs have been shown to reduce plasma levels of the chemokine, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), the anti-fibrinolytic protein, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), the endothelial cell adhesion molecules, e-selectin and inter-cellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), the leucocyte-activating molecule, CD40L, and the tissue-remodeling enzyme, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9). Further tangible evidence of a reduction by TZDs of systemic inflammation in patients with the classical metabolic syndrome stems from falls in the white blood cell count, P-selectin-positive platelets and in the acute-phase inflammatory proteins, C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A and fibrinogen. At the tissue level, TZDs improve vascular endothelial function, and reduce the rate of progression of intimal-medial thickening of the carotid artery and the microalbuminuria of type 2 diabetes. Further, TZDs have been shown to be efficacious in inflammatory diseases as wide-ranging as psoriasis, ulcerative colitis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). In the case of the latter, a broad spectrum of TZD-related properties is visible. Here, these drugs improve insulin sensitivity for glucose metabolism, reduce hyperinsulinemia, hepatic steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis, and lower the circulating levels of liver transaminases (ALT, AST), alkaline phosphatase and gamma glutamyl transferase. These effects in humans are also well-supported by investigative animal and in vitro studies. The ameliorative effects on liver fibrosis are of particular interest since they suggest that TZDs are able to activate a program of corrective tissue-remodeling. The basis for this action may be partly an ability to inhibit matrix protein secretion by hepatic stellate cells. An analogous action has also been seen in kidney mesangial cells. In conclusion, TZDs are important new drugs, presently indicated for the treatment of type 2 diabetes but with a spectrum of properties which suggests their potential for treating a number of degenerative inflammatory diseases, including NASH. However, full-scale, long-term clinical trials are needed with TZDs to test their potential to treat NASH, not least because of the (hepatotoxic) legacy of the prototype TZD, troglitazone, but also in view of the escalating burden of liver disease which is accompanying the increasing global prevalence of clinical obesity and type 2 diabetes.
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PMID:Thiazolidinediones: Pleiotropic drugs with potent anti-inflammatory properties for tissue protection. 1619 19

Clinical characteristics to predict the development of coronary artery abnormalities (CAA) in Kawasaki disease (KD) were assessed by reviewing medical records of patients diagnosed with KD at Korea University Medical Center from March 2001 to February 2005. Of the 285 patients diagnosed with KD, 19 developed CAA (6.7%). Compared with the CAA(-) group, the CAA(+) group had a longer duration of fever after intravenous gamma-globulin (IVGG) injection (2.4+/-2.9 vs. 1.5+/-1.2 days, p=0.008) and higher C-reactive protein (CRP)(12.3+/-7.8 vs. 8.7+/-7.1 mg/dL, p=0.038). In particular, the CAA(+) group tended to have more than 7 days of fever before IVGG and more than 3 days of fever after IVGG (26.3 vs. 5.3%, p<0.001; 26.3 vs. 6.4%, p=0.002). When the IVGG responsiveness was defined by the presence of defervescence within 3 days after IVGG, IVGG-non-responders showed a higher incidence of CAA (22.7 vs. 5.3%, p=0.002). Non-responders had a longer duration of fever after IVGG (5.5+/-1.9 vs. 1.2+/-0.6 days, p<0.001) and a significantly increased CRP, AST, ALT and total bilirubin. Multivariate regression analysis for CAA showed that the only factor significantly associated with the development of CAA was total fever that lasted for longer than 8 days (OR=4.052, 95% CI=1.151-14.263, p=0.0293). Conclusively, the most important predictor of CAA in KD is total duration of fever longer than 8 days. Early identification of IVGG non-responders and active therapeutic intervention for fever in KD cases might decrease the incidence of CAA.
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PMID:Predictive risk factors for coronary artery abnormalities in Kawasaki disease. 1703 7

We present a case of a cat-scratch disease (CSD) presenting with typical (primary lesion and regional lymphadenitis) and rare (purulent lymphadenitis and maculopapular rash) symptoms and positive epidemiological data. Laboratory blood test showed normal values for routine parameters, except for mild leukocytosis (L 12.4 x 10(9)), elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (SE 65/h) and moderately elevated asparta e-aminotransferase and alanine-aminotransferase values (AST/ALT 48/90), fibrinogen (5.3 g/L) and C-reactive protein (CRP 85 mg/L). Cytological analysis of lymph node content revealed granulomatous inflammation in the first sample, and purulent inflammation in the second sample. In paired serum samples, collected on the 15th and 29th day from the onset of disease, antibodies IgG (titre 4096/8192) and IgM (titre 80/40) to Bartonella henselae were detected by using an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Antibiotic therapy with azithromycin (1 x 500 mg per os/5 days) was administered. Purulent lymphadenitis and rash, although a rare clinical manifestation in CSD, are significant clinical findings in differentiating CSD from other febrile illnesses accompanied with rash and lymphadenitis.
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PMID:[Rash and purulent lymphadenitis in cat scratch disease]. 1721 6

Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) characterized by atrocious progression and numerous complications often leads to a high mortality rate due to hypermetabolism, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), and multiple organs dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Studies have revealed that both early enteral nutrition (EEN) and emodin are potent agents in the management of SAP. However, whether the combined strategy is rational and more effective than either one alone remains unknown. In this regard, Wistar rats were treated with emodin-assisted EEN (EAEEN) through enteral nutrient tubes after induction of SAP by retrograde infusion of 5.0% sodium taurocholate into the common pancreatic duct. Serum levels of amylase, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), angiotensin II (AngII), maleic dialdehyde (MDA), glutamic pyruvic transaminase (ALT), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (AST) and C-reactive protein (CRP), intestinal secretory IgA (SIgA), pancreatic and hepatic myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity as well as plasma levels of D-lactate and endotoxin were measured. In addition, pathologic alterations of pancreas and liver were observed microscopically. We found that EAEEN could significantly ameliorate these parameters and prevent pancreas and liver from serious damage. In conclusion, Our results indicated that EAEEN could exert beneficial effects on experimental SAP and obviously abate the severity of secondary hepatic injury. The combined strategy was safe and more effective than either one alone in the acute stage of SAP. This study also provided an experimental base for the clinical treatment of SAP patients with EAEEN.
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PMID:The effect of emodin-assisted early enteral nutrition on severe acute pancreatitis and secondary hepatic injury. 1828 70

Blood lipids and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) are used to assess cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. We evaluated in a cross-sectional design the relationship of hsCRP to markers of liver function (aspartate and alanine transaminases [AST and ALT, respectively]), CVD risk factors and HIV-disease progression markers in 226 HIV-1 sero-positive drug users. hsCRP showed a significant inverse relationship with ALT and high-density lipoprotein, independent of age, gender, viral load, CD4 cell-count and antiretroviral (ARV) use, and was not significantly associated with HIV-disease progression markers. Serum markers of liver damage, AST and ALT, were associated with lower hsCRP, total cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins and triglycerides. Elevated liver enzymes (> or =40 IU/L) were predictive of hsCRP levels that are considered a low risk for CVD. In conclusion, hsCRP may not be a reliable marker of CVD risk in populations with HIV at-risk for elevated liver enzymes due to high hepatitis B virus/hepatitis C virus prevalence and ARV use.
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PMID:C-reactive protein: a poor marker of cardiovascular disease risk in HIV+ populations with a high prevalence of elevated serum transaminases. 1859 80

Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are exposed to nutritional risk. Malnutrition in Crohn's Disease (CD) and to a somewhat lesser in Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is very frequent. Depending on the severity of the disease, weight loss has been reported in 65% to 76% of those with CD and in 18% to 62% of those with UC. The role of Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) is essential in very severe cases where enteral nutrition is not tolerated or standard drug therapy is not effective. Nutritional therapy is important for the correction of nutritional deficiency, especially in cases where elective surgical treatment is required. This study examined the effects of preoperative TPN administration in patients with IBD. Since 1990, 29 pts, 13 (44.8%) male and 16 (55.2%) female with severe IBD; 16 (55.2%) with UC and 13 (44.8%) with CD were treated with TPN in our department in the preoperative period. Evaluation of this group was compared with a group which was not treated with TPN preoperatively: 61 pts, 34 (55.7%) male, 27 (44.3%) female; 50 (82%) with CD, 11 (18%) with UC. Evaluation of this group was compared with the group of patients who were subjected to surgical procedure without prior TPN administration, in total a number of 61, of whom 34 (55.7%) were male and 27 (44.3%) female patients. In this group, the number of patients with CD and UC was 50 (82%) and 11(18%) respectively. During the course of the study, the following parameters were examined: Body mass index (BMI), Disease Activity Index (CDAI/AI), laboratory parameters and the number of hospital days. The parameters were analysed before the surgical intervention, and one week and six months after the surgical intervention. The duration of the application of TPN was 12.5 +/- 5 days. The analysis of these parameters has shown that there is no statistically significant difference in the number of hospital days in both groups, which was 18.9 +/- 8.9 in the intervention group and 18.9 +/- 6.5 days in the control group, p = 0.9808, but analysis of the Disease Activity (CDAI/AI) has shown that patients who were on TPN were in a more severe stage of the disease. In the TPN treated group of patients none, 0 pts (0%), of the pts had no Index of Activity, 1.7 pts (24.1%) had Index 2 and 22 (75.9%) had Index 3. In the other group 3 pts (4.9%) had Index 1; 39 pts (63.9%) had Index 2 and 19 pts (31.2%) had Index of Activity 3. During the monitoring period of six months the activity of the disease was lower in patients treated with TPN. The BMI in the group of patients treated with TPN was lower in both sexes. It was lower than 18.4 in 7 males and 5 females; between 18.4 and 19.9 in 2 males and 4 females; between 19.9 and 25 in 3 males and 6 females; between 25 and 19.9 in 1 male and 1 female; there were no pts with BMI higher than 29.9. In the control non-TPN group, 5 males and 3 females had BMI < or = 18.4; 2 males and 5 females had between 18.4 and 19.9; 23 males and 13 females had between 19.9 and 25; 3 males and 5 females had between 25 and 29.9 and 1 male and 1 female had BMI higher than 29.9. The BMI had an increasing trend in the postoperative period in both groups. The laboratory parameters that we examined were: number of erythrocytes and sedimentation, number of leukocytes, haemoglobin levels, total number of lymphocytes, albumin level, C-reactive protein, orosomucoid, electrolytes; sodium, potassium, calcium and serum iron, the enzymes (AP, AST and ALT); level of bilirubin and urea and creatinine. The results were analysed using the Tukey honest significant difference test (HSD), ANOVA and Student t-test. Statistically significant differences were observed between preoperative and postoperative period in both groups. The intergroup comparison showed significant differences in the level of albumin, AST, ALT and bilirubin.
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PMID:Total parenteral nutrition in treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. 1870 98


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