Clinical evaluation of measurement of serum guanase activity as a screening test of liver damage.

A new method was developed for assay of guanase activity by direct colorimetric determination of ammonia. In this method, dotite bicine buffer is used for preparation of a stable substrate solution and with a fixed concentration of substrate of sufficient strength serum guanase can be measured sensitively and reproducibly. This assay system could be used as a routine clinical laboratory test in the diagnosis of liver damage. GOT, GPT and guanase activities were found to be significantly elevated in patients with various liver disorders, and those with acute myocardial infarction with prominent congestion of the liver and also in CCl4- treated dogs. However, serum guanase activity was normal in patients with various other diseases, in those with acute myocardial infarction and in dogs with experimental myocardial infarction without liver damage, even when the serum GOT and GPT activities were increased. The GOT, GPT and guanase in the medium of rat hepato cytes culture with 5.0 mM CCl4 were elevated. These findings suggest that serum guanase activity is a more specific indicator of liver damage than serum GOT and GPT. The determination of serum guanase activity in patients without liver damage, even when their serum GOT and GPT levels elevated, might be useful as a screening test of liver damage.