The Clinical Significance of Alterations in Transaminase Activities of Serum and Other Body Fluids

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This chapter presents the mechanisms of alterations in serum transaminase activity, and discusses the clinical significance of alterations in transminase activity of serum and other body fluids. Extensive biochemical studies of enzymatic transamination have foreshadowed the clinical implications of transaminase activity in body fluids. Although a number of transaminase activities have been demonstrated in human serum (M2), the two serum transaminases currently of clinical import are serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGO-T) and serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (SGP-T). Both serum enzymes have been measured chromatographically, spectrophotometrically, and colorimetrically. Significant alterations of these serum enzymes have been observed during the course of cardiac, hepatic, and muscular diseases, and reflected enzyme changes at the intracellular level of the respective tissues. Although a multiplicity of diseases is associated with serum transaminase elevations, diagnostic aid is afforded when these serum enzyme alterations are correlated with the clinical facts. The chapter demonstrates that the assessment of the clinical significance of alterations in transaminase activity in body fluids other than serum requires further study.