Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P17174 (aspartate aminotransferase)
 14,872 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Forty-eight (5.0%) of 966 healthy Zambian blood donors were positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) when tested by the turkey erythrocyte passive haemagglutination (TEPHA) method. Twenty-six were investigated in detail, but only one blood donor was found to have liver disease, and this was thought unlikely to be causally related to HBsAg (alcohol-induced fatty infiltration). It is recommended however, that blood donors should be screened for HBsAg. Positive individuals should be rejected but their serum tested for aspartate transaminase (AST), and, if elevated, a liver biopsy performed. This ideal policy is not practicable in all tropical hospitals.
 ...
PMID:Hepatitis B surface antigenaemia: incidence and significance in Zambian blood donors. 26 76

Response to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection [HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs)], serum iron, total iron-binding capacity, hematological status (erythrocytes, Hb, and hematocrit), and evidence of liver damage (serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase; aspartate aminotransferase, L-aspartate:2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase, EC 2.6.1.1) were determined for 201 patients on chronic renal dialysis. Four factors-serum iron level, transminase level, sex, and HBV response [i.e., infected-HBsAg(+) (HBsAg positive), anti-HBs(+) (anti-HBs positive), or no response]-were analyzed simultaneously to test the hypothesis that serum iron is higher in those with HBsAg in their serum than in those without HBsAg, independent of the transaminase level. Four independent, statistically significant two-factor interactions were identified. (i) Serum iron is higher in those HBsAg(+). (ii) Serum iron is higher in those with increased transaminase. (iii) Transaminase is higher in those HBsAg(+). (iv) Males are more likely to be HbsAg(+) and females are more likely to be anti-HBs(+). Also, those who are HBsAg(+) have significantly higher percent iron saturation (serum iron/total iron-binding capacity). That is, the hypothesis was supported by the findings. Several additional biological hypotheses are suggested, including a possible role of increased iron levels in susceptibility and response to HBV infection and the possible relationship between higher iron levels and the likelihood of HBV infection progressing to primary hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, further tests of the initial hypothesis in nonhospitalized populations with endemic HBV infection are proposed.
 ...
PMID:Serum iron levels and response to hepatitis B virus. 28 82

Eight patients with chronic hepatitis B infection (seven with chronic active hepatitis and one with chronic persistent hepatitis) were treated with daily intramuscular injections of human leucocyte interferon for periods of 5 to 8 weeks and in one case for 5 months. In one patient there was a marked fall in virus-associated DNA polymerase activity and in the number of DNA containing viral particles during each of two courses of interferon. Hepatitis Be antigen (HBeAg) also disappeared, the aspartate transaminase levels fell and liver histology improved. In the four other patients with detectable DNA polymerase activity there was an early fall but this was transient and in one of these patients there was a continuing rise in activity despite treatment. One other patient became HBeAg negative but hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) titres were mostly unaffected by treatment. A marked decrease in T-lymphocyte mediated cytotoxicity towards HBsAg coated target cells was demonstrated and raises the possibility that an immunosuppressant action of interferon may offsets its direct anti-viral action but may also account for the improvement in liver function which occurred in some patients.
 ...
PMID:Effects of human leucocyte interferon on hepatitis B virus replication and immune responses in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection. 50 26

Six patients with hepatitis B surface antigen-positive (HBsAg-pos) chronic liver disease have been treated with transfer factor (TF) prepared from leucocytes of normal blood donors with no history of hepatitis, and with TF from subjects recently recovered from type B hepatitis. In three patients there were transient elevations of aspartate transaminase (AsT) after 'specific' TF, representing damage or destruction of hepatocytes, and in two of these patients there was coincidental complement consumption, suggesting that TF had stimulated production of antibody. In one other patient there was an increase in E-rosetting lymphocyte (ERL) concentration representing a change in T-lymphocyte reactivity. One of the two patients who had no measured response to TF had a primary liver cell carcinoma and was receiving prednisolone therapy. TF prepared from subjects who have recently recovered from type B hepatitis may have temporarily altered the immunological status of patients with HBsAg-pos chronic liver disease, but it did not have a beneficial therapeutic effect.
 ...
PMID:Transfer factor in the attempted treatment of patients with HBsAg-positive chronic liver disease. 60 32

Cellular immunity to the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and a liver-specific lipoprotein was studied, using the leucocyte migration test, in 38 asymptomatic blood donors found to have HBsAg in the serum. Sensitization to HBsAg was found in 26% and was related to the presence of liver damage, being detected in 47% of those with elevated serum aspartate aminotransferase but in only 13% with normal enzyme levels. The frequency of sensitization to this antigen in those with chronic persistent or chronic aggressive hepatitis on biopsy was also higher than in those with unrelated or minimal changes. The findings using the liver-specific lipoprotein as antigen were similar and there was a correlation between the results obtained with this and the hapatitis B surface antigen. This study supports the hypothesis that a T-lymphocyte response to hepatitis B virus antigen can initiate an autoimmune reaction to antigens such as liver-specific lipoprotein on the hepatocyte surface, and that this reaction may be of importance in the production of chronic liver damage. In the absence of the T-cell response, the autoimmune reaction cannot occur and the virus is able to establish a harmless symbiotic union with the host.
 ...
PMID:Cell-mediated immunity to hepatitis B surface antigen in blood donors with persistent antigenaemia. 108 Jan 25

Two hundred and forty-three patients receiving renal replacement therapy (RRT) and 20 renal unit staff were tested for antibodies to hepatitis C (HCV). Three patients (1.2%) were positive by the first generation test kit, the lowest rate in patients receiving RRT reported in the literature to date. These three, and eight other patients tested positive by the second generation kit, a prevalence rate of 4.5%. Anti-HCV antibody positivity was associated with higher mean serum alanine aminotransferase (p = 0.0003) and aspartate aminotransferase (p = 0.018) levels. However, only one of the 11 anti-HCV positive patients had liver transaminase levels more than twice the upper limit of the laboratory reference range. Anti-HCV positivity was associated with a higher mean number of units of blood transfused (p = 0.035). None of 20 staff were anti-HCV positive. Twenty-five of 212 (11.7%) patients reported a history of liver disease; none of these were anti-HCV positive. Hepatitis B surface antigen was detected in eight of 215 (3.7%) patients, of which three were e antigen positive. There was evidence of past hepatitis B infection in 53 of 215 (24.7%) patients, more frequently in Maoris (p = 0.001). Overall, significantly raised liver transaminases were present in three of 198 (1.5%) patients and in no staff. This unit has a remarkably low prevalence of antibodies to HCV, an observation supported by the low rate of abnormal serum liver enzymes.
 ...
PMID:Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus in patients receiving renal replacement therapy, and in the staff caring for them. 128 95

To evaluate indications for new therapies such as liver transplantation and antiviral therapy, survival of histologically proven hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive cirrhosis of the liver was assessed in a cohort of 98 patients followed up for a mean of 4.3 years. The overall survival probability was 92% at 1 year, 79% at 3 years, and 71% at 5 years. Variables significantly associated with the duration of survival were age, serum aspartate aminotransferase levels, presence of esophageal varices, and all five components of the Child-Pugh index (bilirubin, albumin, coagulation factors, ascites, encephalopathy). Multivariate analysis showed that only age, bilirubin, and ascites were independently related to survival. Survival of patients with decompensated cirrhosis (determined by the presence of ascites, jaundice, encephalopathy, and/or a history of variceal bleeding) and those with compensated cirrhosis at 5 years was 14% and 84%, respectively. For patients with compensated liver cirrhosis, hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positivity was also a prognostic factor with a 5-year survival of 72% for HBeAg-positive cirrhosis and 97% for HBeAg-negative cirrhosis; the risk of death was decreased by a factor of 2.2 when HBeAg seroconversion occurred during follow-up. It is concluded that liver transplantation should be considered for patients with decompensated HBsAg-positive liver cirrhosis and antiviral therapy for patients with HBeAg-positive compensated cirrhosis.
 ...
PMID:Survival and prognostic indicators in hepatitis B surface antigen-positive cirrhosis of the liver. 142 89

Prevalence of liver injury associated with dimethylformamide (DMF) exposure was determined. Medical examinations, liver function tests, and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) determinations were performed on 183 of 204 (76%) employees of a synthetic leather factory. Air concentrations of solvents were measured with personal samplers and gas chromatography. The concentration of DMF in air to which each worker was exposed was categorized. High exposure concentrations of DMF (i.e., 25-60 ppm) were significantly associated with elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels (ALT greater than or equal to 35 IU/l), a result that did not change even after stratification by hepatitis B carrier status. Modeling by logistic regression demonstrated that exposure to high concentrations of DMF was associated with an elevated ALT (p = .01), whereas hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was slightly but independently associated with an elevated ALT (p = .07). In those workers who had normal ALT values, there occurred still significantly higher mean ALT and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities, especially among those who were not HBsAg carriers. A significant association existed between elevated CPK levels and exposure to DMF. However, an analysis of the CPK isoenzyme among 143 workers did not reveal any specific damage to muscles. This outbreak of liver injury among synthetic leather workers is ascribed to DMF. It is recommended that the occupational standard for DMF and its toxicity among HBsAg carriers be evaluated further.
 ...
PMID:Dimethylformamide-induced liver damage among synthetic leather workers. 203 71

To determine the frequency and significance of antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) in severe cryptogenic chronic active hepatitis (CAH), we tested sera from 17 corticosteroid-treated patients by an enzyme immunoassay. Specificity of the antibodies to HCV-encoded antigens was assessed by recombinant immunoblot assay. The findings in patients with and without anti-HCV were contrasted, and the frequency of seropositivity was compared with that in patients who had other types of chronic liver disease and in normal adults. Only three patients (18%) with severe cryptogenic CAH had anti-HCV. Sera from two of these patients were reactive by recombinant immunoblot assay; the other sample produced an indeterminate reaction. The frequency of seropositivity in patients with cryptogenic disease was not statistically different from that in patients with autoimmune CAH (6%), hepatitis B surface antigen-positive CAH (9%), or alcoholic liver disease (0%), but it was significantly less than in those with posttransfusion CAH (18% versus 75%; P less than 0.01). Seropositive patients tended to have lower serum aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-globulin, and bilirubin levels than seronegative counterparts, and they did not have histologic features of confluent necrosis at initial assessment. Two of the three seropositive patients, both of whom had been reactive by recombinant immunoblot assay, entered remission during therapy, and one, with an indeterminate reaction, died of liver failure. We conclude that anti-HCV occurs infrequently in severe corticosteroid-treated cryptogenic CAH. Seropositive patients may have less severe inflammatory activity than seronegative counterparts. Cryptogenic disease may improve during corticosteroid treatment, a result suggesting an underlying immunologic disorder in some patients.
 ...
PMID:Frequency and significance of antibody to hepatitis C virus in severe corticosteroid-treated cryptogenic chronic active hepatitis. 217 Jul 83

A case of polymyositis associated with chronic active hepatitis was reported. A 53-year-old man, who had no previous history of blood transfusion nor hepatitis, noticed proximal dominant muscle weakness on January 29, 1985. He was admitted to Kyoto National Hospital on February 7, and laboratory studies disclosed the elevation of serum enzyme levels; creatine kinase (CK) 9845 IU/L (normal 54-263), glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) 834 IU/L (9-31), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) 491 IU/L (4-34), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) 2135 IU/L (248-464). Also serum gamma globulin was high (1.8 g/dl) and LE-like cell was found. The diagnosis of polymyositis was made and prednisolone therapy (60 mg/day) was started on February 23. The elevated serum enzymes decreased gradually, but severe muscle weakness persisted for about one month. On April 3, he was admitted to our hospital. Physical examination revealed moderate proximal dominant muscle weakness without skin eruption, jaundice or hepatosplenomegaly. The serum enzymes were still high; CK 1826, GOT 173, GPT 232 (GOT less than GPT), LDH 1548. However, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and bilirubin were normal. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was not detected. Antinuclear antibody was positive. The electromyogram study showed myopathic change, and the muscle biopsy demonstrated myopathic change and cell infiltration, compatible with polymyositis. These results suggested liver dysfunction associated with polymyositis. Prednisolone therapy was continued and muscle weakness decreased. From December, 1985, serum enzymes (CK, GOT, GPT, LDH) elevated again and muscle weakness also slightly increased. Anti-smooth muscle antibody was positive. It was suggested that both polymyositis and liver dysfunction deteriorated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:[A case of polymyositis associated with chronic active hepatitis]. 218 64


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>