Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0023890 (cirrhosis)
 42,195 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The molecular basis for the accumulation of a substance which displays the immunological reactivity of alpha-1-antitrypsin within vesicles of liver parenchymal cells of individuals with hepatic cirrhosis and serum alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency remains unclear. We recently reported that serum from a patient with alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency and hepatic cirrhosis was substantially deficient in sialyltransferease (EC 2.4.99.1) an enzyme which transfers sialic acid from cytidine 5'-monophosphate-N-acetylneuraminic acid to a variety of asialoglycoprotein acceptors. In the present report we have extended these studies to include serum from five additional patients with alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency and juvenile hepatic cirrhosis as well as a liver specimen obtained at autopsy of one of these patients. We find the sialytransferase activity in serum from six patients with alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency and hepatic cirrhosis to be 50% of healthy pediatric control values and 30% of pediatric patients with liver disease. However, serum from family members homozygous for alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency but without hepatic cirrhosis, and serum from patients with a variety of other kinds of liver disease, failed to exhibit the marked sialytransferase deficiency. Similar assays carried out on a homogenate of a liver sample from one patient with alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency and hepatic cirrhosis indicated that the deficiency of sialyltransferase activity was not demonstrable in liver. Furthermore, a comparative kinetic analysis of serum and liver sialytransferase in normal and afflicted individuals failed to detect differences in substrate affinities which might account for a decrease in functional sialyltransferase capacity in individuals with alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency and hepatic cirrhosis. These observations suggest that the serum sialyltransferase deficiency in such patients probably arises after chronic and extensive liver disease involving hepatic accumulation of alpha-1-antitrypsin rather than the enzyme deficiency being the primary cause of the hepatic cirrhosis and alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency.
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PMID:Cytidine-5'-monophosphate-N-acetylneuraminic acid. Asialoglycoprotein sialic acid transferase activity in liver and serum of patients with juvenile hepatic cirrhosis and alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency. 108 50

alpha 1-Antitrypsin phenotypes Pi M and Z, purified by the thiol-disulfide exchange procedure, were desialylated by treatment with neuraminidase covalently coupled to Sepharose and used as acceptors of sialic acid in an assay system for serum sialic acid transferase (CMP-N-acetylneuraminate:D-galactosyl-glycoprotein N-acetylneuraminyltransferase, EC 2.4.99.1) activity. Both asialoantitrypsins were equally effective as acceptors in contrast to native Pi Z antitrypsin which did not accept any sialic acid. Serum sialyltransferase activity was determined in 38 adult alpha 1-antitrypsin deficient individuals (Pi Z, MZ, FZ, SZ) with normal liver function and was found to be of the same magnitude as the activity in normal individuals (Pi M). Equal activities were also found in 5 Pi Z patients with cirrhosis of the liver. The results strongly argue against the concept that sialyltransferase deficiency provides the molecular basis for alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency.
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PMID:The serum sialyltransferase activity in alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency. 108 69