Vatsalya Vatsalya1, Diana Avila2, Jane C Frimodig3, Shirish S Barve4, Craig J McClain5, Leila Gobejishvili4. 1. Department of Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, USA; Robley Rex Veteran's Medical Center, USA. 2. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, USA. 3. Department of Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, USA. 4. Department of Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, USA. 5. Department of Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, USA; Robley Rex Veteran's Medical Center, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Liver injury is estimated by serum alanine aminotransferases (ALT) levels in experimental animal models. Laboratories use various techniques to measure ALT levels including assay reagents and chemistry analyzers. VetScan VS2 (VS2) is widely used in veterinary clinics and research laboratories for highly reproducible, convenient and effective testing. Alternatively, ALT liquid reagent is used by laboratories to estimate liver injury in animal studies. The aim of this study was to perform comparative analyses of data obtained from these two assays in two different animal models. METHODS: In this study, we used two different mouse models and compared the ALT levels measured using VetScan VS2 chemistry analyzer and ALT liquid reagent. Immunohistochemical analysis of hepatic tissue was also performed to document liver pathology. The first model is a high fat diet feeding model that results in a mild hepatic steatosis (fat accumulation in the liver) without elevation of ALT levels. For a severe liver injury model, we employed a hepatotoxin-induced liver injury model (carbon tetrachloride, CCl4), which leads to the development of hepatic fibrosis and very high ALT levels. RESULTS: VetScan VS2 and ALT reagent gave different values of ALT for all animal groups. However, linear regression analysis showed a significantly high association between ALT levels obtained by VS2 and ALT liquid reagent in a high-fat feeding model with no liver injury. For the CCl4 induced liver injury model, serum dilution (5 and 10 times) was performed to obtain accurate results with ALT reagent. ALT levels acquired from both techniques showed a close association. Interestingly, this correlation was closer when serum was diluted 5 fold. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that both methods give similar results when evaluating liver injury in animal studies. However, the serum dilution factor is critical for severe liver injury assessment when using ALT reagent and requires some optimization. In this regard, VetScan VS2 is easier to use and gives comparable results.
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Liver injury is estimated by serum alanine aminotransferases (ALT) levels in experimental animal models. Laboratories use various techniques to measure ALT levels including assay reagents and chemistry analyzers. VetScan VS2 (VS2) is widely used in veterinary clinics and research laboratories for highly reproducible, convenient and effective testing. Alternatively, ALT liquid reagent is used by laboratories to estimate liver injury in animal studies. The aim of this study was to perform comparative analyses of data obtained from these two assays in two different animal models. METHODS: In this study, we used two different mouse models and compared the ALT levels measured using VetScan VS2 chemistry analyzer and ALT liquid reagent. Immunohistochemical analysis of hepatic tissue was also performed to document liver pathology. The first model is a high fat diet feeding model that results in a mild hepatic steatosis (fat accumulation in the liver) without elevation of ALT levels. For a severe liver injury model, we employed a hepatotoxin-induced liver injury model (carbon tetrachloride, CCl4), which leads to the development of hepatic fibrosis and very high ALT levels. RESULTS: VetScan VS2 and ALT reagent gave different values of ALT for all animal groups. However, linear regression analysis showed a significantly high association between ALT levels obtained by VS2 and ALT liquid reagent in a high-fat feeding model with no liver injury. For the CCl4 induced liver injury model, serum dilution (5 and 10 times) was performed to obtain accurate results with ALT reagent. ALT levels acquired from both techniques showed a close association. Interestingly, this correlation was closer when serum was diluted 5 fold. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that both methods give similar results when evaluating liver injury in animal studies. However, the serum dilution factor is critical for severe liver injury assessment when using ALT reagent and requires some optimization. In this regard, VetScan VS2 is easier to use and gives comparable results.
Authors: Ming Song; Theresa Chen; Russell A Prough; Matthew C Cave; Craig J McClain Journal: Alcohol Clin Exp Res Date: 2016-02-09 Impact factor: 3.455
Authors: Madhu Shankar; Nathalie Uwamahoro; Emelie Backman; Sandra Holmberg; Maria Joanna Niemiec; Johannes Roth; Thomas Vogl; Constantin F Urban Journal: Front Immunol Date: 2021-02-26 Impact factor: 7.561