SERUM LEVELS OF α₁-MICROGLOBULIN IN VARIOUS LIVER DISEASES AND ITS CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Abstract

α₁-microglobulin (α₁-m) was a low molecular weight glycoprotein, which was isolated from human urine. Hepatocytes was recently found to be one of the major seites of α₁-m production by immunohistochemical study of human hepatoma cell line. In the present study, serum concentrations of α₁-m were measured in various liver diseases and compared with normal controls. Liver diseases were classified in acute hepatitis (AH, 6 cases), fulminant hepatitis (FH, 4 cases), chronic inactive hepatitis (CIH, 8 cases), chronic active hepatitis (CAH, 10 cases), compensated liver cirrhosis (CLC, 12 cases), decompensated liver cirrhosis (DLC, 20 cases) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HC, 15 cases).
The mean serum concentrations of α₁-m were found significantly decreased in the groups of AH, FH, CLC, DLC than that of normal controls. This decrease seemed to be caused by the hepatic damage. Correlative studies between serum arm levels and liver function tests were simultaneously carried out in all groups excepted for a group of HC. The α₁-m value was significantly correlated with serum values of albumin and cholinesterase. These clinical findings suggested that hepatocytes was a production seit of α₁-m.
The mean value of α₁-m concentrations in patients with HC was 19.6mg/l, which was significantly higher than that of 12.2mg/l in patients with LC. The ranges of α₁-m values of these two groups, however, overlapped greatly each other. These findings suggested that the serum level of α₁-m was of little or no diagnostic value for HC.