title: Serum mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase activity: not useful as a marker of excessive alcohol consumption in an unselected population.
abstract: Using an immunochemical method, we measured the activity of the mitochondrial isoenzyme (mAST) of aspartate amino-transferase (EC 2.6.1.1, AST) in the serum of 687 subjects attending the Centre for Preventive Medicine for a health examination. The distributions of the activities were asymmetrical, with mean values of 1.8 U/L (SD 2.0) for men and 1.4 U/L (SD 1.6) for women. The average ratio of mitochondrial to total AST activity was 0.051 (range 0-0.42). In this unselected population we found no change in the mitochondrial activity or in the mitochondrial-to-total ratio attributable to alcohol consumption, even in subjects who consumed more than 88 g per day. Of 35 men with an alcohol consumption greater than 88 g/d, 19 had a serum gamma-glutamyltransferase activity of greater than or equal to 60 U/L, 17 had glutamate dehydrogenase values greater than or equal to 5 U/L, and only nine had an mAST activity greater than or equal to 3 U/L (values corresponding to the 80th percentiles of the total population). We conclude that the test is not particularly useful as a screening procedure in an unselected population under present-day conditions of measurement.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire du Centre de Médecine Préventive et Centre du Médicament (URA CNRS no. 597), Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schiele
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Artur
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Varasteh
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wellman
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Siest
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005969:Glutamate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000201:enzymology*; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005969:Glutamate Dehydrogenase; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases