The concentrations of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, and the holoenzyme activities and apoenzyme contents of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase in plasma were determined simultaneously in healthy individuals, patients with renal insufficiency with and without chronic haemodialysis and in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Plasma pyridoxal 5'-phosphate is significantly dimi...

Kynurenic acid is an endogenous neuroactive compound whose unbalancing is involved in the pathogenesis and progression of several neurological diseases. Kynurenic acid synthesis in the human brain is sustained by the catalytic activity of two kynurenine aminotransferases, hKAT I and hKAT II. A wealth of pharmacological data highlight hKAT II as a sensible target for the treatment of neuropathol...

Ascorbic Acid and Chronic Alcohol Consumption in the Guinea Pig. SUSICK, R. L., JR., ABRAM& G. D., ZURAWSKI, C. A., AND ZANNONI, V. G. (1986). Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 84,329-335. Protection against the toxic effects of chronic alcohol consumption was observed in male guinea pigs maintained on a high-ascorbic-acid diet (vitamin C-deficient chow plus 2.0 mg ascorbic acid/ml drinking water) as c...

We evaluated serial enzyme and bilirubin determinations as aids to diagnosis of Epstein-Barr virus-induced infectious mononucleosis (121 cases) and the heterophil-negative mononucleosis-like illness due to cytomegalovirus (33 cases). Laboratory evidence for either type of mononucleosis includes mild to moderate hepatic dysfunction, with aspartate aminotransferase activity increased, but lower t...

The effects of the oral administration of trans-ferulic acid and gamma-oryzanol (mixture of steryl ferulates) with ethanol (5.0 g per kg) for 30 days to c57BL mice on ethanol-induced liver injury were investigated. Preventions of ethanol-induced liver injury by trans-ferulic acid and gamma-oryzanol were reflected by markedly decreased serum activities of plasma aspartate aminotransferase, alani...

Liver of rat foetuses from 14 to 19 days of gestation and cultured hepatocytes derived from foetuses of 14 or 15 days gestation show a limited capacity to transaminate tyrosine. This low tyrosine transamination activity can be ascribed to aspartate aminotransferase. Definitive tyrosine aminotransferase can be demonstrated in 1-day-old cultures of hepatocytes taken from 19-day foetuses, but not ...

In previous studies it was found that: (a) aspartate aminotransferase increases the aspartate dehydrogenase activity of glutamate dehydrogenase; (b) the pyridoxamine-P form of this aminotransferase can form an enzyme-enzyme complex with glutamate dehydrogenase; and (c) the pyridoxamine-P form can be dehydrogenated to the pyridoxal-P form by glutamate dehydrogenase. It was therefore concluded (F...