부산대학교 도서관

Plasma pancreatic glucagon concentrations were measured in patients with chronic liver diseases by radioimmunoassay using two different specific antisera, 30K and OAL-123 and the relationship between values obtained by the two assay systems was studied. The concentrations of immunoreactive glucagon (IRG) in plasma from healthy subjects were found to be 99±15 and 111±10pg/ml, measured with the 30K and OAL assay systems, respectively. These IRG levels were significantly rose to about 3 times of the controls in cirrhotic patients, those values were 288±42 and 297±41pg/ml, with the 30K and OAL assay systems, respectively. Significantly correlations were observed between IRG concentrations in patients with chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis, which we measured with the 30K and the OAL assay systems. However, there was remarkable difference between the values in 30K-IRG and OAL-IRG in the plasma from some patients with cirrhosis and almost patients with hepatic encephalopathy; the former was much higher than the latter. Since it has been reported that bile acids strongly influence to the value by radioimmunoassay of IRG, we next examined the effect of addition of bile acids to the two assay systems. With the 30K assay system, IRG value remarkably increased by addition of bile acids, especially glycocholic acid and glycodeoxycholic acid. On the other hand, IRG value was hardly influenced by bile acids with the OAL assay system. In cases whose value of 30K-IRG was higher than that of OAL-IRG, the serum concentration of total bile acids was found to be high compared with cases whose value of 30K-IRG was equal or less than that of OAL-IRG.These results suggest that the increase in serum bile acids caused the discrepancy between 30K-IRG and OAL-IRG in cirrhotic patient; 30K-IRG shows higher value than OAL-IRG. Thus, it can be concluded that in cases with high concentration of serum bile acids such as hepatic encephalopathy, 30K-IRG does not show true IRG value but OAL-IRG does.