Abstract
TheLimulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) test has the disadvantage of being influenced by various inhibitors and activators. We have developed a method for the LAL reaction that involves the specific adsorption and isolation of endotoxin using a membrane filter unit and immobilized histidine; in this present study we used the method to measure endotoxin in the plasma of patients with acute or chronic liver disease. The adsorbed endotoxins are separated from LAL-inhibitors or-activators by the membrane filter unit, and their activity is directly assayed with the LAL reagent in a filter cup without any inhibition or activation. The study population consisted of 23 subjects, 3 with fulminant hepatitis and 20 with cirrhosis (9 with esophageal varices and 11 without). All 3 (100%) of the samples of plasma from patients with fulminant hepatitis were positive for endotoxin, as were the samples of 7 (78%) of the 9 patients with cirrhosis and esophageal varices, and 2 (18%) of the 11 patients with cirrhosis but without such varices. The results suggested that this method appears to be useful for assaying the concentration of endotoxin in patients with fulminant hepatitis or cirrhosis of the liver.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Caridis DT, Reinhold RB, Woodruff PWH, Fine J. Endotoxaemia in man. Lancet 1972;1:1381–1386.
Tarao K, So K, Moroi T, et al. Delection of endotoxin in plasma and ascitic fluid of patients with cirrhosis: Its clinical significance. Gastroenterology 1977;73:539–542.
Levin J, Tomasulo PA, Oser RS. Detection of endotoxin in human blood and demonstration of an inhibitor. J Lab Clin Med 1970;75:903–911.
Morita T, Tanaka S, Nakamura T, Iwanaga S. A new (1–3)-β-D-glucan-mediated coagulation pathway found inLimulus amebocytes. EEBS Lett 1981;129:318–321.
Pfeiffer M, Weiss AR. Investigations on an essential plasma factor disturbing the photometric determination of endotoxin in plasma samples with the Limulus test. In: Stanley WW, Levin J, Novitsky T (eds) Detection of bacterial endotoxins with theLimulus amebocyte lysate test. New York: Alan R Liss, 1987;251.
Nawata M, Minobe S, Hase M, et al. Specific assay for endotoxin using immobilized histidine,Limulus amoebocyte lysate, and a chromogenic substrate. J Chromatogr 1992;597:415–424.
Inada K, Yoshida M, Takahashi T, et al. A new perchloric acid treatment of human plasma for detection of endotoxin by an endotoxin-specific chromogenic test. In: Friedman H, Klein TW, Nakano M, Nowotny A (eds) Endotoxin. New York: Plenum, 1990;225–229.
Nolan JP, Hare DK, McDevitt JJ, Vilayat Ali M. In vitro studies of intestinal endotoxin absorption. I. Kinetics of absorption in the isolated everted gut sac. Gastroenterology 1977; 72:434–439.
Levin J, Poore TE, Zauber NP, Oser RS. Detection of endotoxin in the blood of patients with sepsis due to gram-negative bacteria. N Engl J Med 1970;283:1313–1316.
Obayashi T, Tamura H, Tanaka S, et al. A new chromogenic endotoxin-specific assay using recombinedLimulus coagulation enzymes and its clinical applications. Clin Chim Acta 1985; 149:55–65.
Nakano H. Study on the cause of elevated total serum immunoglobulin M in patients with acute hepatitis A. Jpn J Gastroenterol 1987;84:1755–1763 (in Japanese).
Yamamoto Y, Sezaki S, Sakurabayashi S, et al. The study of endotoxin levels in portal venous system in liver cirrhosis. Jpn J Gastroenterol 1990;87:997–1002 (in Japanese).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shiomi, S., Kuroki, T., Ueda, T. et al. Use of immobilized histidine in assay for endotoxin in patients with liver disease. J Gastroenterol 29, 751–755 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02349282
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02349282