Comparison between serum alpha-glutathione S-transferase and aminotransaminases in detecting cytolysis in hepatitis C-infected children.
BACKGROUND
alpha-Glutathione S-transferase (alphaGST) has been proposed as a more sensitive indicator than serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in detecting hepatocellular damage due to chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.


METHODS
The accuracy of alpha-GST was compared with that of ALT and AST in detecting cytolysis in 103 blood samples issued from 31 children positive for HCV RNA.


RESULTS
alpha-GST had a lower sensitivity than ALT or AST (32% vs. 54.4% for each aminotransferase). The sensitivity of ALT and/or AST was 60.2%, whereas that of ALT and/or alpha-GST and AST and/or alpha-GST was lower (58.3% and 57.3%, respectively). Among 41 serum samples with negative ALT and AST, only 2 had positive alpha-GST, whereas alpha-GST failed to detect cytolysis in 31 samples with elevated ALT and/or AST. No correlation was found between alpha-GST, ALT, or AST and the Knodell score.


CONCLUSIONS
The combination of ALT with AST is actually the best compromise in detecting cytolysis in untreated HCV-infected patients.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005355:Fibrosis; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000097:blood*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D009336:Necrosis; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood