Depression of plasma gelsolin level during acute liver injury.

Human plasma contains two actin-binding proteins, plasma gelsolin and vitamin D-binding protein. These proteins are considered to play an important role in the disposition of actin derived from injured tissue. To evaluate this actin-scavenger system, gelsolin concentrations were measured in serial plasma samples obtained from patients with acute liver injury using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Plasma gelsolin levels in 43 healthy persons were 226 +/- 52 micrograms/mL. They were markedly reduced to 80 +/- 40 micrograms/mL in 14 patients with an early stage of acute hepatitis and returned to normal levels of 232 +/- 38 micrograms/mL as the disease resolved. Moreover, they showed a significant negative correlation with serum aminotransferase and bilirubin levels. In 7 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, plasma gelsolin levels rapidly decreased from 182 +/- 42 to 87 +/- 41 micrograms/mL after transcatheter arterial embolization therapy. Because plasma gelsolin is not a hepatic protein, the decreased levels are considered to depend exclusively on the extent of actin leakage from the injured liver.