ALT (SGPT)

ALT (SGPT)

Glutamate pyruvate transaminase is a component of transaminases and is an enzyme found mostly in liver cells, kidney, heart muscle and muscle tissue and ALT reversibly catalyzes the transfer of an amino group from L-alanine to α-ketoglutarate that leads to ketoacid relating to desired amino acid which means pyruvate. ALT has a half-life of 47 hours and it’s an enzyme completely outside the mitochondria and has the highest activity in hepatocytes, it means, its 3000 times more than plasma in the cell, with pyridoxine deficiency causes disorder in hepatic synthesis of ALT is impaired and a similar condition occurs in liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. In healthy people, the amount of ALT in the blood is low. Cell destruction and death cause the enzyme to be released into the bloodstream and its level in the blood increases. Increase of ALT level is observed in viral hepatitis, drug and toxin use, liver cirrhosis, alcoholism, Wilson disease, liver cancer, heart attack and muscle damage, hereditary hemochromatosis, obstructive jaundice or biliary obstruction, shock and hypoxia, infectious mononucleosis. Measurement of serum ALT level is used in general checkup and diagnosis of liver diseases and report of hepatitis treatment stage, differential diagnosis of hemolytic icterus from icterus caused by liver diseases.