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Enzymatic determination of serum 3α-sulfated bile acids concentration with bile acid 3α-sulfate sulfohydrolase

  • Pancreatic And Biliary Disorders
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Abstract

A newly developed enzymatic method for determining urinary 3α-sulfated bile acids was used to measure serum 3α-sulfated bile acid levels in 114 patients with hepatobiliary diseases and 56 healthy subjects. The lowest measurable amount of the 3α-sulfated bile acids was 0.5 µmol/liter. The standard curves for glycolithocholic acid 3α-sulfate, glycoursodeoxycholic acid 3α-sulfate, and lithocholic acid 3α-sulfate were linear from 0.5 to 250 µmol/liter. Specificity of the assay was satisfactory and intra- and interassay variations ranged from 0.8 to 4.4% and from 1.2 to 7.9%, respectively. Analytical recovery was more than 91%. The values obtained by this assay were well correlated with those by gas-liquid chromatography measurement (r=0.91,P<0.01). The fasting serum 3α-sulfated bile acids level in healthy subjects ranged from undetectable to 1.9 µmol/liter (mean±se; 0.9±0.1 µmol/liter). The percentage of 3α-sulfated bile acids in total bile acids (sum of 3α-sulfated and 3α-hydroxy bile acids) in serum was 16.8±1.5%. In subjects with hepatobiliary diseases, serum 3α-sulfated bile acids levels were elevated; however, the percentage of 3α-sulfated bile acids in total bile acids was decreased and correlated with the severity of hepatocellular insufficiency. This enzymatic assay is simple, rapid, and accurate for the determination of serum 3α-sulfated bile acids.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Second Department of Medicine, Asahikawa Medical College, Nishikagura 4-5-3-11, 078, Asahikawa, Japan

    Takafumi Kato MD,  Masashi Yoneda MD, Kimihide Nakamura MD & Isao Makino MD

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  1. Takafumi Kato MD
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  2. Masashi Yoneda MD
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  3. Kimihide Nakamura MD
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  4. Isao Makino MD
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Kato, T., Yoneda, M., Nakamura, K. et al. Enzymatic determination of serum 3α-sulfated bile acids concentration with bile acid 3α-sulfate sulfohydrolase. Digest Dis Sci 41, 1564–1570 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02087901

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02087901

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