title: Comparative evaluation of capillary zone electrophoresis and HPLC in the determination of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Transferrin (Tf) glycoform lacking one or two complete or incomplete glycan chains (i.e., asialo-monosialo- and disialo-Tf) typically appear in blood after chronic alcohol consumption, though recently it was reported that monosialo-Tf is associated with trisialo-Tf but not with alcohol consumption. These glycoforms are collectively known as carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT). Since samples from alcoholic patients are characterized by decreased sialic acid content in serum transferrin, the assessment of CDT is thereby widely used for laboratory evaluation of chronic alcohol abuse.
  
  
  METHODS
  CDT analysis has been performed in 6011 consecutive subjects undergoing national mandatory testing after the confiscation of driving license for driving under the influence of alcohol. Out of the 6011 specimens, 539 (9%) displayed values exceeding the specific cut-off (>1.3%) on multicapillary electrophoresis (MCE) (Capillarys2 Sebia, France), and were further analyzed with a routine high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall correlation between the methods in the total 539 samples was satisfactory, displaying a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.960. Nevertheless, the correlation was lower in the group with CDT values comprised between 1.3% and 1.9% (group 1; r=0.60) than in those with CDT values >2.0% (group 2; r=0.98). Moreover, the discordance between values exceeding the method-specific threshold in the former group of samples was also remarkably high (62% of samples in group 1 vs. 0.6% in group 2). Finally, a significant difference of CDT values was observed in group 1 (p<0.001), and in group 2 (p<0.0001) by Wilcoxon test.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The MCE is characterized by a high throughput and it seems a suitable approach for laboratory monitoring of alcohol abuse when CDT is used as medical parameter in the diagnosis and follow-up of heavy drinking. However, CDT measured by screening techniques must be confirmed by a confirmatory technique, in particular for forensic purpose.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Biochemical Laboratory, San Maurizio Regional Hospital, Bolzano, Italy. massimo.daves@asbz.it
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Daves
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cemin
authors.forename: Mirella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Floreani
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pusceddu
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cosio
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lippi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000097:blood; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D019075:Electrophoresis, Capillary; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014168:Transferrin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D014168:Transferrin; C056759:carbohydrate-deficient transferrin