Summary
- Serum αGST can identify adverse hepatic events in advance of traditional biomarkers.
- Serum αGST falls rapidly following successful surgery.
- Serum post-surgical hepatic dysfunction is associated with persistently elevated serum αGST.
- Serum αGST can demonstrate the hepatic effects of different surgical procedures and therapeutic interventions.
Selected articles
1) α-gluthathione S-transferase as an early marker of hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury after liver resection
Choukér, A., Martignoni, A., Schauer, R.J., Dugas, M., Schachtner, T., Kaufmann, I., Setzer, F., Rau, H.G., Löhe, F., Jauch, K.W., Peter, K. and Thiel, M. (2005). World J. Surg. 29(4) 528-34.
- 75 subjects undergoing liver resection studied.
- αGST could distringuish between hepatic effects of different surgical techniques. (Pringle procedure vs other techniques)
- Elevated intra-surgical serum αGST levels were associated with post operative hepatic dysfunction.
- αGST seemed to be a sensitive, predictive marker of ischemia/reperfusion-induced hepatocellular injury and postoperative liver dysfunction.
2) Change in alpha glutathione S-transferase levels during liver resection
Suehiro, T., Matsumata, T., Shikada, Y., Shimada, M., Shirabe, K. and Sugimachi, K. (2004)
Hepatogastroenterology. 51(60) 1747-50.
- αGST levels fell within one hour post surgery and were close to normal 12 hours later. Transaminases peaked at 6 hours post surgery and were elevated for a week.
- In subjects where the Pringle procedure was used, αGST fell more slowly.
3) Serum alpha-glutathione S-transferase: a new marker of hepatocellular damage associated with hepatectomy
Matsumoto, R., Watanabe, S., Beppu, T. and Futagawa, S. (2000). Hepatol. Res. 18(1) 10-18.
- 20 subjects undergoing partial hepatectomy.
- In uncomplicated surgery, αGST fell rapidly and was close to normal 2 days post operation: ALT and AST took 2 weeks to normalise.
- Post-operative hepatic dysfunction was associated with a second, post-operative, rise in αGST.
4) Administration of prostaglandin E1 reduces postoperative hepatocellular damage and restores hepatic integrity in patients undergoing hepatectomy.
Baek, Y., Nakano, H., Kumada, K., Nagasaki, H., Kigawa, G., Sasaki, J., Kaneda, M., Hatakeyama, T., Kitamura, N., Sanada, Y., Midorikawa, T. and Yamaguchi M. (1999). Hepatogastroenterology. 46(27) 1836-41.
- 15 subjects undergoing partial hepatectomy.
- αGST was lower in the intervention group, as was serum bilirubin.