Biochemical tracing of parasitic infections—I. Fasciola hepatica. In mice—A qualitative study

Abstract

The levels of glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (GPT) in liver and serum were followed during the course of infection of mice by Fasciola hepatica L. The first detectable increase in serum GPT activity occured 14 days after infection and acitivity subsequently rose to a peak of approximately 100 times normal on the 28th day. Damage to the liver was first noticed at 14 days of infection and progressively increased until all lobes were extensively damaged by the 28th day. During this period the serum GPT level reflected the loss of enzyme from hepatic tissue occasioned by the migration of the parasite. On the 29th day of infection, flukes appeared in the bile-duct and subsequently serum enzyme activity rapidly returned to normal while GPT activity in the damaged areas of the liver rose. Therefore the migrating behaviour of the fluke may be followed by assaying serum enzyme activity.