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Clinical Chemistry 43: 686-687, 1997;
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(Clinical Chemistry. 1997;43:686-687.)
© 1997 American Association for Clinical Chemistry, Inc.

Technical Briefs

Characterization of the Aspartate Aminotransferase–Immunoglobulin M Complex in a Japanese Woman,

Koichi Asanuma, Atsuhito Yagihashi and Naoki Watanabea

Dept. of Lab. Diagnosis, Sapporo Medical Univ. School of Med., South 1, West 16, chuo-ku, Sapporo, 060, Japan
a author for correspondence: fax 81-11-622-7502

Alterations in serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) concentration usually correlate with the clinical stages of organ-specific disease. However, persistently increased AST concentration is sometimes due to the formation of a macrocomplex between immunoglobulin (Ig) and AST. In most healthy cases, AST-Ig complexes were detected after detailed studies to determine the cause of a persistent high concentration of serum AST. If high AST concentrations are found in the absence of organ-specific disease, we should suspect the presence of an AST-Ig complex. In eight previously reported healthy individuals with a high AST concentration (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6), the Ig that was bound to AST was always IgG. Here we characterize the immunological and biochemical properties of the AST-IgM complex in an individual without serious disease.

The patient, a 61-year-old woman, was referred to our hospital for evaluation of persistently high serum AST concentration of 9 years duration. Her AST concentration was measured six times between February and July 1992 in our hospital. Each time, AST was high but all other liver function tests were normal. Laboratory tests at the time of admission showed (reference range): AST, 294 (5–40) U/L; IgM, 2.83 (0.7–1.70) g/L; C3, 0.53 (0.63–0.99) g/L; antimacrosomal antibody, x400 (<x100). Results of hepatitis B surface and core antibody assays were positive. Computed tomography and ultrasonography of the abdomen revealed no evidence of liver disease such as hepatocellular carcinoma, liver cirrhosis, or fatty liver. A liver biopsy sample was normal.

Total AST activities were measured by an Olympus AU-560 automated analyzer (Olympus, . . . [Full Text of this Article]


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Copyright © 1997 by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.