Hepatic zinc content in patients with various stages of alcoholic liver disease and in patients with chronic active and chronic persistent hepatitis.

The hepatic zinc content was determined in liver biopsies of patients with alcoholic and nonalcoholic liver disease using proton-induced X-ray emission. The values obtained in postmortem specimens of the liver from 27 patients with no evidence of acute or chronic liver disease served as controls. The mean value and the range of the zinc content in the controls (75 +/- 24 ppm wet weight) are in good agreement with those reported in the literature. The hepatic zinc content in the control group showed no significant age or sex dependence. The mean zinc content was significantly decreased in all groups of patients with alcoholic liver disease. The decrease was comparable in biopsies from patients with alcoholic fatty liver (-56.7%, n = 12), mild alcoholic hepatitis (-50.5%, n = 6) and alcoholic cirrhosis (-45.6%, n = 10). The hepatic zinc content was also distinctly reduced in patients with chronic active hepatitis (-60.3%, n = 15) and in those with chronic persistent hepatitis (-44.9%, n = 8). The estimation of the zinc content in subcellular fractions of the liver performed in postmortem specimens from seven patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis and in six controls revealed a significant reduction in the zinc content in the fraction containing cell nuclei and membranes and in the mitochondrial fraction. A similar decrease was seen in the 100,000 g supernatant; however, the difference did not attain statistical difference. The zinc content of the microsomal fraction in the controls was lower than in the other three cell fractions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Analysis of the Cu, Fe, and Zn contents in cytochrome C oxidases from different species and tissues by proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE).

The Cu, Fe and Zn contents in isolated cytochrome c oxidase preparations from heart, liver, diaphragm or kidney of bovine, pig and rat was measured by proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). The average Cu/2Fe ratio was 2.73 and Zn/2Fe ratio 0.98. Correspondingly a Cu/Zn ratio of 2.76 was found. Dialysis of the bovine heart enzyme against increasing EDTA concentrations up to 30 mM did not change this result. It is concluded that all isozymes of mammalian cytochrome c oxidase contain 3 Cu, 2 Fe and 1 Zn per monomeric catalytic unit.

Contents of trace elements in the human liver before birth.

A multielement analysis was carried out in nine fetal livers (age: 23 weeks of gestation to term) in comparison to an adult control group (n = 37). 15 elements (phosphorus to lead) were analyzed by proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). Significant differences between the two groups, expressed as ratios (R) of fetal to adult liver values were observed for copper (R = 16), zinc (R = 2.0), iron (R = 1.5), calcium (R = 1.34), selenium (R = 1.22), manganese (R = 0.7), and molybdenum (R = 0.13). An interesting point seems to be the inverse relation of copper and molybdenum. The negative correlation of these two trace elements which is known from animal experiments has now been confirmed in the human liver.

Study of sample collection and preparation methods for multi element analysis in liver tissue by proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE).

Large samples of tissue and biopsy specimen were taken from a single human liver, homogenized or paraffin-embedded, then analyzed by PIXE. Homogenates, including those of biopsies, proved to be suitable for PIXE-analysis of P, S, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Se, Rb, Mo, Cd and, to a limited extent, Pb. Paraffin-embedding leads to a distinct elution of K, Rb, Cl and to a lesser elution of P, Zn, Se, Br and Mo. The contents of Ca and Sr, on the other hand, were higher in the paraffin-embedded sections. Sections of paraffin-embedded biopsies proved to be hardly suitable for PIXE-analysis.

Variation of trace element contents in a single human liver.

Multi element analysis of homogenised samples taken from three different areas of a single human liver was performed for 18 elements by proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE). Small (10--20%) but statistically significant variations between the element contents of these areas were found for Cl, K, Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn, Br, Rb and Mo. These differences are not parallel to each other. The variation of element content within one area of this single liver did not show any distinct correlation between different elements, nor did it significantly exceed the methodical errors of 3--10% except for lead. Thus we conclude from our measurements that the trace element analysis of small liver samples by PIXE is, with the exception of lead, fairly representative for the whole organ.