The Activities of Hepatic Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase, 6-Phosphogluconate Dehydrogenase and Citrate Cleavage Enzyme in Liver Diseases in Relation to Fatty Infiltration in the Liver

The activities of Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-Phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and Citrate cleavage enzyme, of which increase is known to be associated with an enhanced lipogenesis in experimental animals, were measured in the liver tissues from the patients with liver diseases. 1) The activities of these enzymes were significantly increased in the convalescent stage of acute hepatitis, while no significant changes were found in chronic hepatitis (active or inactive), liver cirrhosis and fatty liver. 2) No apparent correlation was found between the activities of these enzymes and the degree of hepatic fatty infiltration in these liver diseases, suggesting that hepatic lipogenesis might not play a majar role in fatty change of liver encountered in the course of the liver diseases. Alternatively, the increased enzyme activities might reflect some other metabolic alterations associated with hepatic injury.