Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.6.1.2 (alanine aminotransferase)
 26,722 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In 86 Chinese patients with histologically proven hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive chronic hepatitis and serum alanine aminotransferase levels exceeding 200 U/l, antibody to hepatitis D antigen (HDAg) was detected more frequently in sera from hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) negative patients (11/35, 31.4%) than in HBeAg positive (4/51, 7.8%) patients (p less than 0.02). 10 liver biopsy specimens (76.9%) from 13 chronic hepatitis B patients with superimposed hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection, showed positive staining for HDAg in their hepatocytes. Neither HBsAg nor hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) was found in the liver in 12/13 patients with superimposed HDV infection. However, in liver biopsy specimens from 42 patients without HDV superinfection, HBsAg was stained positively in 41 patients (97.6%), and HBcAg in 24 patients (47.1%). Using dot blot hybridization technique, serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA was detected in 62.1% (41/66) of patients without HDV superinfection, while it was detected only in 10.0% (1/10) of patients who had HDV superinfection. It is concluded that HDV superinfection plays a significant role in Taiwan in HBeAg negative chronic hepatitis B patients with clinical "exacerbation". The data show clear evidence of HDV interfering with the replication of HBV.
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PMID:Hepatitis D virus (delta agent) superinfection in an endemic area of hepatitis B infection: immunopathologic and serologic findings. 361 86

The infectivity of hepatitis D virus (HDV) was evaluated by intravenous inoculation of chimpanzees. HDV was present in the inoculum at a titer of 10(11) chimpanzee infectious doses (CID). In contrast, the titer of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in the same inoculum was 10(6) CID. All HBV-infected chimpanzees inoculated with less than or equal to 10(-11) dilutions of the HDV-positive plasma were superinfected; an animal receiving a 10(-12) dilution did not develop markers of HDV replication in serum or liver. All HDV-infected chimpanzees had marked elevations of serum alanine aminotransferase activities. The incubation period from exposure to development of hepatitis was inversely related to the dose of HDV inoculum, although the severity and duration of hepatitis were independent of it. All animals recovered and rapidly developed antibody to hepatitis D antigen.
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PMID:Titration of the infectivity of hepatitis D virus in chimpanzees. 379 5

Delta antigen was detected by means of direct immunofluorescence in the liver of 20 out of 118 chronic carriers of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Delta antigen was frequently found in young chronic HBsAg carriers with chronic active hepatitis. Positivity for anti-HBe occurred in almost all cases. A peculiar aspect of delta infection was a predominance in patients from Southern, rather than from Northern or Central Italy. Another interesting finding is the higher mean values of GOT and GPT in delta-positive patients compared with those in delta-negative patients. The follow-up of some patients confirmed that chronic delta hepatitis is a particularly progressive disease.
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PMID:Chronic delta hepatitis: a difficult problem for the hepatologist. 638 95

Examinations of 4457 blood donors (about 80% were men aged 18 to 30) revealed an increased level of serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) in 82 (1.8%). Specific markers of viral hepatitis C were detected in 15.9%, of hepatitis B in 12.0%, of hepatitis D in 2.0%, of hepatitis E in 8.0%, of hepatitis A in 2.0% of sera with high SGPT levels. Mandatory screening of blood donors revealed specific markers of viral hepatitis in 15.9% of cases, additional testing detected these markers in 10.9% cases more. A conclusion is made that an increase of SGPT activity is an independent surrogate marker of viral hepatitis.
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PMID:[Alanine aminotransferase--a surrogate marker of viral hepatitis]. 774 Jul 84

Hepatitis due to hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection is generally associated with severe histological abnormalities and rapid progression of the disease. To assess the efficacy of recombinant interferon-a2b in treatment of chronic delta hepatitis, 22 patients were entered into a randomized controlled trial: 11 received interferon-a2b subcutaneously three times weekly for 12 months (5 MU/m2 for 4 months and then 3 MU/m2 for a further 8 months) and 11 were untreated. All patients were followed up for 6 months after the completion of therapy. Nine treated patients completed the trial: one was withdrawn with hyperthyroidism and one committed suicide. Serum ALT levels were normalized or significantly reduced, always within 3 months of initiating treatment, and remained so in 73% of treated patients at the 4th month and in 54.5% at the 12th month, compared with 18% and 18%, respectively, in the untreated group. Moreover, in seven of nine treated patients, interferon was associated with the clearance of serum HDV-RNA, associated with amelioration of the histological picture, whereas this occurred in only four of 11 untreated patients. On cessation of therapy, all patients but one experienced a biological and/or virological relapse over the 6-month follow up. In conclusion, our data confirm that HDV is sensitive to inhibition by interferon-a2b, although the schedule used did not achieve permanent control of the disease. The adverse effects of interferon require consideration; in particular, care will be needed to avoid serious psychiatric side effects.
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PMID:The French experience of treatment of chronic type D hepatitis with a 12-month course of interferon alpha-2B. Results of a randomized controlled trial. 777 57

To analyze the serological, clinical and histological significance of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication among a group of patients with chronic delta hepatitis (CDH), we have studied the clinical and the histological activity in 49 patients with CDH. The HBV-DNA was analyzed by dot-blot and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Concomitant infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) was analyzed by reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR, HDV replication by dot-blot, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The subjects were divided into three groups according to HBV-DNA status: group I: 14 patients HBV-DNA dot-blot positive; group II: 29 patients HBV-DNA positive only by PCR, and group III: 6 patients HBV-DNA negative by dot-blot and PCR. We have found HBV-DNA by dot-blot in 28.5% of patients, and by PCR in 87.7%. Also 22 patients were anti-HCV positive (86.3% had HCV-RNA by RT-PCR). The first group (HBV-DNA dot-blot positive) had significantly higher serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) than those in the second and third groups. Likewise, serum ALT and AST were significantly higher in the second group (HBV-DNA positive by PCR) than in those of the third group. Histological inflammatory activity was significantly higher in the group of patients with HBV-DNA detectable by dot-blot. The prevalence of serum HDV-RNA and IgM anti-HDV were similar in the three groups. These results were similar in the anti-HCV-positive and -negative patients. In conclusion, these data suggest that: (1) persistence of HBV replication is a major determinant of severe liver damage in chronic delta hepatitis, and (2) HCV and HIV infections do not influence the natural history of CDH.
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PMID:Correlation between hepatitis B viremia and the clinical and histological activity of chronic delta hepatitis. 799 89

Interferon-alpha therapy has been approved for treatment of chronic hepatitis C and B. Candidates for treatment are patients with well-compensated liver disease and histological evidence of chronic hepatitis who have demonstrated abnormal aminotransferase levels for more than 6 months. In patients with chronic hepatitis B, candidates for treatment need to have evidence of viral replication, either hepatitis B e antigen or hepatitis B virus DNA. Successful response in patients with chronic hepatitis C (i.e., normalization or near-normalization of aminotransferase levels) can be expected to occur in approximately 50% of treated individuals. After a successful course of treatment, the relapse rate is at least 50%. With chronic hepatitis B, successful response (i.e., elimination of viral replicative markers) occurs in approximately 40% of treated patients. In this group, relapse is rare, and successfully treated patients may have no detectable hepatitis B surface antigen with long-term follow-up. Variables that may predict a response in patients with chronic hepatitis C include lower pretherapy alanine aminotransferase levels, female sex, and younger age. In individuals with chronic hepatitis B, response is more likely if pretreatment hepatitis B virus DNA is low, pretherapy alanine aminotransferase levels are high, and the duration of infection is short. Current data available in treating chronic delta hepatitis are limited, but suggest that although transient responses can occur, sustained response is unlikely with this disease.
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PMID:Use of interferon in the treatment of chronic viral hepatitis. 804 86

We examined the efficacy of decreasing high doses (beginning at 18 MU/day) of interferon-alpha 2a vs. that of daily low doses (3 MU) in the treatment of chronic hepatitis delta virus infection. Patients treated with 18 MU had a somewhat higher frequency of normalization of serum ALT levels than patients treated with low doses (31% and 12%, respectively, on an intention-to-treat basis). A decrease in the percentage of hepatitis D virus RNA positivity was observed in both groups at the end of treatment. Thus, whereas in baseline samples 10 (62%) of the patients in each group were positive for hepatitis D virus RNA in serum on slot-blot hybridization, these numbers decreased to 5 (31%) and 4 (25%) patients in groups 1 and 2, respectively, at the end of therapy. However, hepatitis D virus RNA, detected by means of nested polymerase chain reaction, remained in all but two (one in each group) patients who completed the treatment. Finally, during posttreatment follow-up, hepatitis D virus RNA levels returned to baseline values, and only one patient remained negative for this marker. The beneficial effect of interferon-alpha was only transient. Only two patients (one from each treatment group) had persistently normal serum ALT levels after 18 mo of follow-up. Finally, the presence of serum hepatitis D virus RNA at the end of therapy, detected with nested polymerase chain reaction, might be a good marker for the prediction of viral replication relapse.
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PMID:Treatment of chronic hepatitis D virus infection with low and high doses of interferon-alpha 2a: utility of polymerase chain reaction in monitoring antiviral response. 818 63

To detect hepatitis D virus (HDV) RNA in asymptomatic HDV-infected risk groups, Northern blot hybridization was carried out using a strand-specific riboprobe. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to evaluate factors associated with HDV viremia and elevated transaminase levels in these subjects. Two (15%) of 13 antibody to HDV (anti-HDV) -positive intravenous drug addicts, 15 (33%) of 45 anti-HDV positive prostitutes, and 6 (40%) of 15 anti-HDV positive brothel goers had detectable serum HDV RNA. Older age (> 31 years old) was negatively associated with HDV RNA (P < .04), while hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) was positively associated with it (P < .002) in univariate analysis. Only HBeAg was still significant in multivariate analysis (P < .05). Of the 76 asymptomatic anti-HDV positive case, 28 (37%) had mildly elevated serum ALT levels and only 5 (7%) had ALT levels more than twice normal (> 80 U/L). HBeAg (P < .05) and HDV RNA (P < .02) were two factors associated with ALT elevation in univariate analysis, and HDV RNA was the only significant factor in multivariate analysis (P < .005). In summary, active replication of HBV seemed to be of help for the assembly of HDV and viremia. However, active replication of HDV was associated mostly with mildly elevated ALT levels in these subjects. These cases may represent a particular group in the disease spectrum of HDV infection.
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PMID:Factors associated with viremia and elevated transaminase levels in asymptomatic hepatitis D virus-infected risk groups. 830 25

To determine the most prevalent forms of hepatitis in intravenous heroin addicts, 389 addicts consecutively admitted to outpatient treatment clinics throughout California were tested for antibodies to hepatitis A (anti-HAV), B core (anti-HBc), B surface (anti-HBs), C (anti-HCV), D (anti-HDV), and B surface antigen (HBsAg). The majority were also tested for serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase, lactic dehydrogenase, total bilirubin, globulins, albumin, and platelet count. The seroprevalence of each marker was: anti-HAV (40.7%); anti-Hbc (73.6%); anti-HBs (46.7%); anti-HCV (93.6%); anti-HDV (9.6%), and HBsAg (3.5%). No single case was positive for IgM, anti-HAV, or for both HBsAg and anti-HDV, indicating the presence of recent hepatitis A or hepatitis D infection. Abnormal liver enzymes, serum proteins, total bilirubin, and platelet count were found to be normal in 5.3 to 44.8% of anti-HCV cases indicating persistent infection. Among anti-HCV cases, elevated total bilirubin or a low platelet count was invariably associated with one or more liver enzyme and protein abnormalities. We conclude that while acute hepatitis may be frequent and caused by various viral types, hepatitis C is the primary form of chronic hepatitis found in intravenous heroin addicts. Almost half of hepatitis C cases demonstrate liver function abnormalities indicating persistent infection that has the potential to be contagious and progress to cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma.
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PMID:Seroprevalence of hepatitis A, B, C, and D markers and liver function abnormalities in intravenous heroin addicts. 855 78


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