Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound   Target Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound

---

Query: EC:2.6.1.2 (alanine aminotransferase)
26,722 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In patients with chronic hepatitis B and C virus (HBV, HCV) infection, an inverse relationship in the replicative activity of the two viruses has been reported. In the present study the genotype of HCV was evaluated in 34 consecutive cases found with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HCV in the serum, in order to identify its possible influence in determining the pattern of HBV/HCV interaction. Nineteen patients were HCV-RNA positive and could be genotyped: 8 were infected by HCV-1 (3 by HCV-1a and 5 by HCV-1b), 10 by HCV-2, and only 1 by HCV-3. Among these, 3 were HBV-DNA positive, compared to 10 of 15 HCV-RNA-negative patients (P = 0.003), and all 3 were coinfected with HCV-2. Mean alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were similar between patients infected with HCV-1 and HCV-2. Among 7 patients with cirrhosis 5 were infected by HCV-2, while 6 of 12 of those without cirrhosis had HCV-1 infection. In conclusion, HBV replication was inhibited more efficiently by HCV-1 than by HCV-2. Cirrhosis was frequently found in patients with dual HBV and HCV-2 infection.
...
PMID:Hepatitis C genotypes in patients with dual hepatitis B and C virus infection. 883 49

In endemic areas infection with hepatitis B virus is a common cause of chronic liver disease in childhood. High levels of viral replication and mild ALT abnormalities are the rule in children infected perinatally and many of them are likely to maintain viral replication through their youth. Conversely about 90% of children infected later in life clear HBeAg and achieve sustained remission of liver disease before reaching adulthood. The eventual outcome of infection and disease in these patients remains unpredictable as reactivation of liver damage and viral replication may occur after several years of sustained remission. Cirrhosis is a rare and early complication of chronic HBV infection in children, and a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma. IFN therapy can accelerate HBV DNA clearance, improving the spontaneous anti-HBe seroconversion rate in Caucasian children by two to three times. Hepatitis delta is the most severe form of chronic viral hepatitis in childhood. Cirrhosis can be diagnosed in up to 26% of patients at presentation, and few cases respond to IFN therapy. Hepatitis C is relatively rare in children. Before the discovery of HCV, blood transfusions were the most common source of infection. Hepatitis C is usually a mild, asymptomatic disease in otherwise healthy children, but has a poor propensity to spontaneous remission over the years. For this reason, and based on the experience in adults, IFN treatment is now being evaluated.
...
PMID:Chronic viral hepatitis in childhood. 886 29

Treatment of chronic hepatitis B and C aims to achieve viral eradication. Decreasing the number of carriers subsequently reduces the transmission of the viruses. For an individual patient, therapy is aimed at preventing cirrhosis, liver failure and hepatocarcinoma. Among potential therapies, interferon alfa offers the best results. In one study involving the treatment of children from a region of intermediate endemicity, interferon alfa accelerated the clearance of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication. In long-term follow-up, the study did not show a significant difference between patients who were treated and those who were not in the rate of disappearance of serum HBV-DNA, normalization of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels or seroconversion to antibodies to hepatitis B e antigen. The most important factors in predicting a rapid decrease in HBV replication were AI T levels more than twice normal, low levels of serum HBV-DNA (less than 100 pg/mL) and inflammatory activity on liver biopsy (chronic active hepatitis). A select group of children with HBV infection has thus been shown to benefit from interferon alfa therapy. Treatment should be administered in a dosage of 6 MU/m2 three times each week for 6 months. Chronic active hepatitis, develops in approximately 30% of children with a chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Cirrhosis due to HCV appears to be a very rare complication among children. Results of interferon alfa treatment for children with HCV are scarce. A pilot study of 12 children treated with interferon alfa in a dosage of 3 MU/m2 three times each week for 6 months showed that ALT levels normalized in approximately 90% of the patients after 15 months of follow-up. All of the patients had a decrease in the histological activity of the disease. Factors predictive of a favourable response in adults were: low levels of gamma-glutamyl transferase, young age, female sex, short duration of disease, absence of cirrhosis and low histological activity of the disease. Controlled randomized studies are needed to determine the indications for interferon alfa therapy in children infected with HCV. Available data suggest that children may have a better response than adults.
...
PMID:Therapy for chronic viral hepatitis. 888 78

Investigations of liver function and histology were undertaken in thirty four patients with Fibrocalculous Pancreatic Diabetes (FCPD). The data obtained were compared with those of similarly aged members of a diabetic control group comprising twelve patients with Protein Deficient Diabetes Mellitus (PDDM), twelve with Type 1 diabetes or Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM) and four young patients with Type 2 Diabetes of Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM). None of them had apparent past or present liver disease. Elevations of serum ALT (SGPT) and alkaline phosphatase levels were fairly common and was often associated with mild fatty changes and occasionally with focal necrosis and inflammatory changes. Cirrhosis and inflammatory changes per se were infrequent and fatty changes per se did not occur. In contrast patients belonging to the other diabetic subsets were very occasionally afflicted with hepatic abnormalities or not afflicted at all. We propose that loss of hepatotrophic actions mediated by insulin and glucagon could initiate and/or enhance hepatic abnormalities in FCPD where deficiencies of insulin and glucagon coexist.
...
PMID:Observations on hepatic structure and function in fibro-calculous pancreatic diabetes (FCPD) vis-a-vis other diabetic subtypes. 967 Jun 24

This study aimed to investigate the ratios of precore stop mutant (codon 28; TGG to TAG) to total viremia in 53 HBeAg-positive patients with chronic hepatitis B by amplification-created restriction site assays along the course of HBeAg-to-anti-HBe seroconversion. At baseline, 11% had exclusive wild-type hepatitis B virus (HBV), 15% had exclusively precore mutant, and 74% had mixed viral strains. Precore mutant ratios correlated little with age, sex, or HBV DNA levels (all P > 0.1), but correlated modestly with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels (P = 0.05). The intervals from presentation to anti-HBe seroconversion correlated significantly with ALT and precore mutant ratios in univariate analysis but with only precore mutant ratios in multivariate analysis (P = 0.003). Precore mutant ratios at baseline were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in six patients with persistent high viremia and ALT elevation after anti-HBe seroconversion (group 1) than in 47 with remission (group 2). All group 1 patients had exclusive precore mutant after anti-HBe seroconversion, as did only 14 (30%) of the group 2 patients (P = 0.003). Among group 2 patients, precore mutant ratios at baseline or after anti-HBe seroconversion showed no significant difference between 34 patients with sustained remission and 13 with relapse. Cirrhosis developed in 50% (5 of 10) of patients with precore mutant ratios >50% at baseline but only in 12% (5 of 43) of those with precore mutant ratios of <50% at baseline (P < 0.05). In conclusion, precore mutant of variable ratios was frequently detected in HBeAg-positive patients with chronic hepatitis B. Precore mutant ratios tended to correlate with ALT levels and anti-HBe seroconversion, but high precore mutant ratios were associated with persistent hepatitis after anti-HBe seroconversion and increased risk of cirrhosis.
...
PMID:Precore stop mutant in HBeAg-positive patients with chronic hepatitis B: clinical characteristics and correlation with the course of HBeAg-to-anti-HBe seroconversion. 1177 86

There are conflicting results in studies concerning the best marker for liver histopathological features of HCV infection in HD patients. We planned a prospective study to follow HCV viremia and laboratory parameters of HD patients and correlate these with clinic features and histopathological findings. We included 68 HCV infected patients (45 male, 23 female, age: 39.8 +/- 11.9 years, HD duration: 58.2 +/- 36.4 months) in our study. The follow-up period after the biopsy was 33.2 +/- 20.3 months. Patients liver enzyme (alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT)) levels were determined monthly and ferritin levels every three months, and the mean value was recorded. We also screened patients for HCV RNA. During the follow-up period, 22 (32.4%) of the patients had positive RNA, 26 (38.2%) negative RNA. 20 (29.4%) had intermittent RNA positivity. The patients with high grade of portal necroinflammatory activity had significantly higher AST and ALT levels. In addition patients with high grade lobular activity had significantly shorter HD and HCV infection duration and higher AST, ALT and ferritin levels. AST levels were negatively correlated with duration of HD and HCV infection, and positively correlated with GGT and ferritin levels. Additionally, we found that ALT levels were negatively correlated with HD duration and positively correlated with GGT levels. ALT levels higher than 30 U/L were reflected necroinflammatory activity more significantly than levels higher than 40 U/L. Cirrhosis was detected in 5.9% of the patients, and we could not find any laboratory parameter that was correlated with stage of fibrosis. Although there is a high degree of liver involvement, cirrhosis is a relatively less frequent finding in HD patients. Serum aminotransferases and ferritin levels but not the pattern of HCV viremia are predictors of necroinflammatory activity in liver biopsy specimens. Liver biopsy obligatory to assess the disease activity in HD patients.
...
PMID:Spectrum of liver damage and correlation with clinical and laboratory parameters in HCV infected hemodialysis patients. 1177 20

Cirrhosis predisposes the liver to secondary stresses such as endotoxemia possibly via dysregulation of the hepatic portal circulation secondary to imbalanced upregulation of vascular stress genes. In this study we determined the effect of cirrhosis on hepatic vasoregulatory gene expression in response to endotoxin (LPS, i.p., 1 mg/kg). Cirrhosis was induced by bile duct ligation (BDL) for 21 days in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Plasma and liver samples were taken 6 h following an injection of LPS for alanine aminotransferase (ALT) assays and RT-PCR analysis of mRNA levels for genes of interest: endothelin (ET-1), its receptors ET(A) and ET(B), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), inducible NOS (iNOS), and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). ALT release increased by 5.5-fold in the BDL animals and 9.9-fold in BDL + LPS compared to sham. ET-1 mRNA was increased by either LPS or BDL treatment alone and increased significantly more in BDL + LPS compared to sham + LPS. mRNA levels for ET(B) receptors showed no change, whereas ETA transcripts decreased in BDL animals compared to sham, with no significant difference between the saline and LPS treatment groups. The resultant increased ratio of ET(B) over ET(A) in BDL animals was reflected functionally in the portal pressure responses to ET(A) and ET(B) agonists ET-1 and IRL-1620 (a specific ETB receptor agonist). The pressor response to ET-1 was attenuated, while the response to IRL-1620 was similar in BDL and sham. eNOS mRNA levels did not increase in response to either BDL or LPS or a combination of both compared to sham. The increase in iNOS mRNA was attenuated in BDL + LPS compared to sham + LPS. HO-1 expression increased significantly in sham + LPS, but failed to increase in BDL + LPS. Taken collectively, significantly greater induction of the constrictor ET-1 over the dilation forces (i.e., eNOS, iNOS, and HO-1) was observed in BDL + LPS. This suggests a compromised ability of the cirrhotic liver to upregulate sufficient dilatory forces to counterbalance the constrictive effect of ET-1 upon a secondary insult of endotoxemia. These results may partly explain the increased susceptibility of cirrhotic livers to injury as a result of endotoxemia.
...
PMID:LPS-induced imbalanced expression of hepatic vascular stress genes in cirrhosis: possible mechanism of increased susceptibility to endotoxemia. 1195 34

Copper in drinking water has been associated with Non-Indian Childhood Cirrhosis (NICC), a form of early childhood liver cirrhosis. This epidemiological study examines the exposition of infants to increased copper concentrations through drinking water from public water supplies in Berlin, Germany, and if this dietary copper intake can cause liver damage in early childhood. In total, water samples from 2944 households with infants were tested for copper. Mean copper concentrations in the two different types of collected composite samples were 0.44 and 0.56 mg/l, respectively. Families having a copper concentration at or above 0.8 mg/l in one or both of the composite samples (29.9% of all sampled households) and a defined minimum ingestion of tap water of their infant were recommended to undergo a paediatric examination. Nearly every of the 541 recommended infants were examined by a local paediatrician and of these 183 received a blood serum analysis, too. None of the infants had clear signs of a liver disease although a few serum parameters lay outside the accompanying reference range and abdominal ultrasound imaging gave slightly unusual results in five cases. Additionally, no signs of a negative health effect could be found in the statistical analysis of the serum parameters GOT, GPT, GGT, total bilirubin, serum copper, or ceruloplasmin in relation to estimated daily and total copper intakes of the infants from tap water. No dose relation of serum parameters and estimated copper intakes could be established. From the results of the study, no confirmed indication of a liver malfunction in infants whose food had been prepared using tap water with an elevated copper concentration could be found and, therefore, no indication of a hazard due to copper pipes connected to public water supplies could be detected.
...
PMID:Epidemiological investigation on chronic copper toxicity to children exposed via the public drinking water supply. 1252 4

The role of reactive oxygen species in liver fibrogenesis is not yet clarified. The aim of this study was to investigate oxidative-stress-related changes in cirrhotic rats. Cirrhosis was induced by bile duct ligation in Sprague-Dawley rats. Plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), hepatic 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), hepatic mitochondrial respiratory functions and gene transcripts were measured at 2 and 4 weeks after surgery in bile-duct-ligated (BDL) and sham-operated-operated rats. The results showed progressive increases in the levels of plasma MDA, hepatic 8-OHdG and procollagen I and III mRNA expression, and progressive impairment of hepatic mitochondrial respiratory function in BDL rats at 2 and 4 weeks after ligation compared with sham-operated rats. Moreover, at 4 weeks after ligation, BDL rats exhibited reduced plasma glutathione and vitamin E levels, impaired hepatic mitochondrial electron transport enzyme activities and oxidative phosphorylation function. In addition, hepatic mRNA expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 was increased. Hepatomegaly, abnormal plasma alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase levels, and portal hypertension were noted in BDL rats. Our results suggest that bile duct ligation in the rat induces mitochondrial dysfunction and biochemical and molecular changes related to oxidative stress in the liver.
...
PMID:Oxidative-stress-related changes in the livers of bile-duct-ligated rats. 1259 53

BACKGROUND/AIM:: Cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis C is a major cause of mortality. The components of reported diagnostic indices of cirrhosis based on biochemical markers may be modified by therapies for hepatic inflammation. We aimed to construct index of cirrhosis in patients treated for chronic active hepatitis. METHODS:: Using sera of consecutive 140 patients with chronic hepatitis C, routine blood tests including fibrosis markers, type IV collagen and procollagen type III peptide (PIIIP), were performed. Diagnosis of cirrhosis was determined by biopsy. Using multivariate analyses, diagnostic indices of cirrhosis were constructed. RESULTS:: Fifty-eight patients were diagnosed to have cirrhosis. Platelet count, prothrombin time, and albumin were lower, and type IV collagen and PIIIP were higher in patients with cirrhosis (p<0.05). There was no difference in aspartate and alanine aminotransferases (AST, ALT) and gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase (GGT) (p>0.3). Our diagnostic indices I (prothrombin time and platelet count) and II (prothrombin time and type IV collagen) of cirrhosis showed the area under the ROC curves (AUC) of 0.77 and 0.81, respectively. The index II was relatively superior to the index I. CONCLUSIONS:: Using combination of type IV collagen and prothrombin time, efficient diagnosis of cirrhosis can be performed in patients with chronic active hepatitis C.
...
PMID:A simple combination of serum type IV collagen and prothrombin time to diagnose cirrhosis in patients with chronic active hepatitis C. 1558 29


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 Next >>

---