Circulating alpha-1 acid glycoprotein level in cirrhotic patients was determined by radioimmunoassay, and was compared to the ones in normal subjects and chronic active hepatitis with sublobular necrosis. Serum alpha-1 acid glycoprotein levels in liver cirrhosis (p less than 0.001) and chronic active hepatitis with sublobular necrosis (p less than 0.02) were significantly reduced comparing to the normal subjects, although any statistically significant difference was not observed between the formers. In liver cirrhosis, thie serum alpha-1 acid glycoprotein level correlated negatively with serum albumin concentration but neither with serum alpha-1 globulin fraction nor with Indocyanine green clearance rate.

The activity of bilirubin UDP-xylosyl transferase as well as UDP-glucuronyl transferase in liver biopsy specimens of 3 control subjects, 42 cases with liver disease and 5 cases with Gilbert’s syndrome was measured. Normal values of these enzyme levels were determined to be 142—302 U/kg protein for the former and 260—400 U/kg protein for the latter. Both enzyme levels in acute hepatitis in convalescence and chronic hepatitis were nearly in the normal range. In the cirrhotic liver they tended to a small decrease and patients with Gilbert’s syndrome demonstrated significantly decreased enzyme levels. These enzyme levels were only correlated with serum unconjugated bilirubin concentration, but not with the other liver function tests. Finally, both enzyme activities were exactly correlated with each other.

Circulating desialylated glycoprotein level in acute hepatitis was studied by using the competitive binding assay reported by us. Statistically significant differences of the level among acute hepatitis in the peak of illness, fulminating hepatitis and normal subjects were observed. The desialylated glycoprotein level in acute hepatitis was elevated associating with S-GPT and serum bilirubin levels, and it returned to the normal range before S-GPT and serum bilirubin were normalized. The desialylated glycoprotein in a fulminant hepatitis was increasing associated with bilirubin even when S-GPT was decreasing.

An improved method for quantitation of desialylated glycoproteins was developed. The assay was carried out in non-saturating condition other than saturating condition which has been used by the other authors. In the present method a lower radioactivity in the assay solution can be used. Standard curves obtained by adding an increasing amount of desialylated alpha1-acid glycoprotein to the assay solution made it possible to measure desialylated glycoproteins equivalent to 5-200 ng of desialylated alpha1-acid glycoprotein. Desialylated alpha1-acid glycoprotein used for the assay could be prepared in large scale by hydrolysis with 0.1 N-H2SO4.

Serum desialylated glycoprotein level was tested for chronic hepatitic patients. The level was significantly elevated in patients with chronic aggressive hepatitis but not in chronic persistent hepatitis comparing to normal subjects. In chronic aggressive hepatitis, severe type (2B), serum desialylated glycoprotein levels were significantly enhanced but not in moderate type (2A) when compared to chronic persistent hepatitis. Sera taken serially from patients with chronic aggressive hepatitis, severe type (2B), demonstrated a slight correlation between circulating desialylated glycoprotein level and serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase activity.