Skip Navigation



Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access published online on June 15, 2007
Alcohol and Alcoholism, doi:10.1093/alcalc/agm048
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
42/6/588    most recent
agm048v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Chrostek, L.
Right arrow Articles by Szmitkowski, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Chrostek, L.
Right arrow Articles by Szmitkowski, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Medical Council on Alcohol.

Relationship between serum sialic acid and sialylated glycoproteins in alcoholics

Lech Chrostek1,*, Bogdan Cylwik1, Agnieszka Krawiec1, Walenty Korcz2 and Maciej Szmitkowski1

1 Department of Biochemical Diagnostics, Medical University, Bialystok
2 Department of Detoxification, Psychiatric Hospital, Choroszcz, Poland

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Biochemical Diagnostics, Medical University, Waszyngtona 15A, Bialystok, Poland. Fax: 048 85 7468 585 E-mail: chrostek{at}amb.edu.pl

Received 4 January 2007; first review notified 8 March 2007; in revised form 11 May 2007; accepted 14 May 2007


  Abstract

Aims: Total sialic acid (TSA) has been suggested as a marker for chronic alcohol abuse. It seems that the elevation of TSA during excessive alcohol consumption reflects the changes in sialylated glycoproteins in the sera. On the other hand, chronic ethanol consumption increases the desialylation rate of many serum glycoproteins. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the total and free form of sialic acid levels (FSA), and the concentration of sialylated glycoproteins in alcoholics. Methods: We determined the serum concentration of many glycoproteins ({alpha}1-antitrypsin, {alpha}1-acid glycoprotein, haptoglobin, ceruloplasmin, transferrin, complement C3 protein, fibrinogen and immunoglobulin G) in a sample of 100 alcoholics and 30 healthy controls. Total sialic acid was determined by the enzymatic method and its free form by using a modification of the thiobarbituric acid method. Results Among alcoholics, we found increased concentrations of {alpha}1-antitrypsin and {alpha}1-acid glycoprotein but decreased levels of transferrin. The concentrations of TSA and FSA were significantly higher in alcoholics than in healthy controls. The tested glycoproteins, except for transferrin and immunoglobulin G, positively correlated with TSA and FSA. The correlations with TSA were higher than that with FSA. Conclusions Chronic alcohol abuse alters the concentrations of some sialylated glycoproteins in the sera. The {alpha}1-antitrypsin, {alpha}1-acid glycoprotein, and transferrin are the only affected glycoproteins. The serum level of total and free form of sialic acid in the sera of alcoholics depends on the concentration of the most sialylated glycoproteins.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Mult SclerHome page
K. Rithidech, L Honikel, M Milazzo, D Madigan, R Troxell, and L. Krupp
Protein expression profiles in pediatric multiple sclerosis: potential biomarkers
Multiple Sclerosis, April 1, 2009; 15(4): 455 - 464.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.