title: Serum alcohol dehydrogenase: a sensitive biomarker of ongoing graft function after liver transplantation.
abstract: Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) is an enzyme specifically located in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes. The purpose of this study was to assess the potential usefulness of serum ADH activity as a biomarker of graft function following liver transplantation. Blood samples were obtained from 26 patients who underwent living-donor liver transplantation. In patients without any post-operative complication, serum ADH activity normalized at 2.9 +/- 1.2 d. Values of serum ADH activity were remarkably elevated in patients with vascular complications, whereas they were only slightly elevated or remained within the reference range in patients with acute cellular rejections. In vascular complications, serum ADH activity peaked prior to elevation of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and once the cause of damage was resolved, the values returned to reference range more quickly than did ALT and AST. In conclusion, monitoring serum ADH activity in addition to ALT and AST may provide more sensitive ongoing graft status and valuable information for the differential diagnosis of vascular complications and acute cellular rejection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. shimazu@sc.itc.keio.ac.jp
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shimojima
authors.forename: Motohide
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimazu
authors.forename: Haruhito
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Shigeyuki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawachi
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanabe
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hoshino
authors.forename: Go
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wakabayashi
authors.forename: Yasuhide
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morikawa
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitajima
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood*; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000502:physiology*; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase