title: Lysosomes and human liver disease: a biochemical and immunohistochemical study of beta-hexosaminidase.
abstract: Liver biopsies from 88 patients with different liver diseases were studied for beta-hexosaminidase activity. Liver specimens with normal light microscopical morphology showed no immunohistochemical reactivity for beta-hexosaminidase. Increased reactions were noted, mainly in hepatocytes, in biopsies from the patients with different liver diseases. A very large interindividual variation of biochemical liver beta-hexosaminidase activity occurred even within the same diagnostic group, and no group of patients showed any significant increase of liver beta-hexosaminidase activity compared with the patients with normal liver histology. Livers with positive immunohistochemistry showed increased biochemical values for beta-hexosaminidase. In patients with cholestasis due to alcohol abuse, the immunohistochemical reaction was intense and the biochemical beta-hexosaminidase activity was significantly increased compared with non-alcoholic cholestatic cases. Furthermore, blood samples taken from 50 patients at the same time as the liver biopsies. These patients showed significantly increased serum beta-hexosaminidase activity compared with normal controls, but no correlation was found between beta-hexosaminidase activities in the liver and serum of these patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathology, University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Elsafi
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hultberg
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Isaksson
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hägerstrand
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Prytz
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Stenram
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D002779:Cholestasis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007728:Kupffer Cells / Q000201:enzymology; D008099:Liver / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000201:enzymology*; D008108:Liver Diseases, Alcoholic / Q000201:enzymology; D008247:Lysosomes / Q000201:enzymology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D001619:beta-N-Acetylhexosaminidases / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001619:beta-N-Acetylhexosaminidases