title: Raised transaminase activity of blood plasma from rats with experimentally-induced kidney damage detected by spin-echo 1H-NMR spectroscopy.
abstract: We report the application of spin-echo 1H-NMR spectroscopy to the detection of raised plasma transaminase activity in rats treated with the nephrotoxic cephalosporin antibiotic cephaloridine (CPH). Spin-echo 1H-NMR analysis of lyophilized plasma, reconstituted in H2O reveals a doublet at delta 1.48 for alanine. However when samples were reconstituted with 2H2O we noted that in samples from CPH-treated rats (but not in control samples) there was a variable degree of appearance of a singlet at delta 1.47 together with a reduction in the doublet at delta 1.48. We suggest that this is due to the release of transaminases from damaged tissue which, via a reversible conversion of alanine to pyruvate, causes selective deuteration of alanine at the alpha-hydrogen (alpha-CH) position. This observation suggests that these 1H-NMR spectral patterns are dependent on the level of plasma transaminases and this may provide a novel indicator of tissue damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Birkbeck College, University of London, UK.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Anthony
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Beddell
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lindon
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Nicholson
mesh_terms: D000409:Alanine / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D002509:Cephaloridine / Q000009:adverse effects; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D000637:Transaminases / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D000637:Transaminases; D002509:Cephaloridine; D000409:Alanine