KARACİĞER ALKOL DEHİDROGENAZ AKTİVİTESİNİ ETKİLEYEN BAZI FAKTÖRLERİN ARAŞTIRILMASI : INVESTIGATION OF SOME FACTORS AFFECTING LIVER ALCOHOL DEHYDROGENASE ACTIVITY

A major factor that regulates the rate of ethanol oxidation is the content and specific activity of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) in liver. The liver ADH activity shows great differences among individuals dependent on genetic and environmental factors. In this study, ADH activities of human postmortem liver specimens (n=50) have been determined by spectrophotometric assay at pH=8,8. 16% of individuals have been shown to have the atypical form of ADH by this method. The evaluation of electrophoretic movement of ADH enzyme in liver tissue samples of adults who had usual and atypical ADH enzymes activities has been done by starch gel electrophoresis. The atypical liver ADH enzyme was seen to be electrophoretically different from the usual liver ADH enzyme. The results (excluding the subjects with atypical form of ADH) have been examined according to cause of death, age, sex and variation in time between death and autopsy. The cause of death was found to be the most important factor; the liver ADH activities from patients dying from a sudden traumatic accident or illness of acute were on average two times higher than the liver ADH activities from patients dying of a chronic illness or cancer (p<0,001). Age and sex appeared to haven't important effects on total liver ADH activity. The liver ADH activities of the 20 to 59 year old individuals have been observed on average slightly higher than the over 60 year old individuals, although this difference wasn't significant (p>0,05). The activity of males have been found slightly higher than females. Delays of up to two days between death and autopsy did not seem to exert any influence on the liver ADH activity (p>0,05).