Microassay of heme oxygenase by high-performance liquid chromatography: Application to assay of needle biopsies of human liver

✍ Scribed by B.C. Lincoln; A. Mayer; H.L. Bonkovsky

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1988
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 478 KB
• Volume: 170
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0003-2697
• DOI: 10.1016/0003-2697(88)90662-8

✦ Synopsis

We developed a microassay for heme oxygenase, in which bilirubin (BR) production was measured by HPLC, and compared it to previously reported spectrophotometric methods. The microassay required as little as 5 mg wet human, rat, or chick embryo liver. Using the HPLC assay, values for heme oxygenase activity in extracts (10,000 g supernatant) of normal human liver obtained by needle biopsies were 44 +/- 7 (pmol BR.min-1.mg protein-1). Spectrophotometric assays of homogenates of human liver resulted in low values for heme oxygenase, due to unknown sources of interference. Comparative values of microsomal heme oxygenase activity were 294 +/- 25, 95 +/- 3, and 87 +/- 9 pmol BR.min-1.mg protein-1 for chick, rat, and human livers, respectively.