title: Concentrations of transferrin and carbohydrate-deficient transferrin in postmortem human brain from alcoholics.
abstract: Transferrin (T f) and its carbohydrate-deficient isoform (CDT) were measured by radioimmunoassay in phosphate-buffered saline extracts of two informative areas of cerebral cortex tissue obtained at autopsy from alcoholics without other associated disease (n = 4); alcoholics with cirrhosis of the liver (n = 4) and agematched controls (n = 4). Total T f was also measured in two informative cortical areas from five dementia cases. All cases were male. Total immunoreactive T f was assayed directly in the extract, CDT immunoreactivity in the concentrated eluate after the sialylated form was removed by passing through DEAE-Sephacel at pH 5.65. Brain CDT averaged 10% of total T f overall. Although replicate extractions of individual samples gave consistent assays for both substances, there was wide variation both between different cortical areas from a given case and between cases within groups. There were no significant differences between total T f levels in uncomplicated alcoholics, dementia cases and controls, but cirrhotic alcoholics gave significantly higher values. The CDT: T f ratio was not increased in the brains of either group of alcoholics compared to controls. Whereas the serum CDT: T f ratio is an excellent marker of recent alcohol consumption, brain T f and CDT concentrations do not mark alcoholism nor dementia, and their biological variability diminishes their usefulness as disease indices. However, brain T f may be a marker of cirrhosis-induced changes.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Laboratory, Royal Brisbane Hospital Research Foundation, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, AustraliaLiver Unit, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, AustraliaDepartment of Pathology, University of Sydney and Department of Anatomical Pathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Dodd
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Laboratory, Royal Brisbane Hospital Research Foundation, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, AustraliaLiver Unit, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, AustraliaDepartment of Pathology, University of Sydney and Department of Anatomical Pathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Eckert
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Laboratory, Royal Brisbane Hospital Research Foundation, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, AustraliaLiver Unit, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, AustraliaDepartment of Pathology, University of Sydney and Department of Anatomical Pathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Laboratory, Royal Brisbane Hospital Research Foundation, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, AustraliaLiver Unit, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, AustraliaDepartment of Pathology, University of Sydney and Department of Anatomical Pathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Kril
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Laboratory, Royal Brisbane Hospital Research Foundation, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, AustraliaLiver Unit, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, AustraliaDepartment of Pathology, University of Sydney and Department of Anatomical Pathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Harper
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Laboratory, Royal Brisbane Hospital Research Foundation, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, AustraliaLiver Unit, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, AustraliaDepartment of Pathology, University of Sydney and Department of Anatomical Pathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Halliday