Transferases Transferrin

Alcohol consumption is very difficult to assess. There is widespread belief that individuals underreport their intake and there are no reliable laboratory tests available for definitive diagnosis of alcohol abuse. A combination of abnormalities in the plasma activity of gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT or yGT), AST and reduction in erythrocyte mean cell volume (MCV) maybe useful and all are routine lab. tests. A potential marker of interest is carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) which is an abnormal isoform of serum transferrin arising due to defects in the attachment of carbohydrate chains to the protein core. Unfortunately, CDT is a somewhat specialized test, not performed by most laboratories. Other markers which have attracted some research interest are ethyl sulphate and ethyl glucuronide. Excretion in the urine of these metabolites occurs for up to 50 hours after binge drinking so they offer a useful index of recent heavy alcohol intake. 

HAU HECS Hep cells HPRT HSV HTC cells IAA ITES haemagglutinin unit human endothelial cell supernatant human epithelial cells hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase herpes simplex virus hepatoma tissue culture cells indole acetic acid medium supplement containing insulin, transferrin, ethanolamine and selenium... 

The normal zinc content of the body amounts to 20-30 mmol (1.3-2.0 g). The daily dietary requirement is 10-15 mg. In the blood, zinc is bound to tt2-macro-globulin, albumin or amino acids, and a small amount is also bound to transferrin. Zinc is crucial to a variety of enzyme reactions. This applies especially to the liver. More and more attention has therefore been paid to the role of zinc in liver disease in recent years. Six enzyme groups (hydrolases, isomerases, ligases, lyases, oxidore-ductases and transferases) with a total of 35 zinc metal-loenzymes are listed. (98) Almost 200 enzyme reactions in the body are zinc-dependent ... 

A. Helander and S. Carlsson, Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin and gamma-glutamyl transferase levels during disulfiram therapy. Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res., 20, 1202-1205 (1996). 

Acute hepatitis mimicking iron overload syndrome was reported in a 35-year-old man who had been taking fo-ti (dose and duration unspecified). Laboratory studies included alanine transferase 2714 U/1 (normal <50 U/1), aspartate aminotransferase 1170 U/1 (normal <50 U/1), AP 137 U/1 (normal <130 U/1), total bilirubin 4.6 mg/dl (normal <1.4 mg/dl), direct bilirubin 3.0 mg/dl (normal <0.4 mg/dl), and ferritin 13,862 ng/ml (normal 8 to 282 ng/ml) and a fasting transferrin saturation of 86% (normal 20% to 60%). Analysis of the herbal supplement identified extracts from fo-ti including the anthraquinones emodin and physcion. The patient recovered after cessation of the herbal products, and liver function tests 4 months after hospitalization were normal (Laird et al. 2008). 

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