Enzymes and cardiac markers Flashcards
What is an enzyme?
a substance (usually a protein) that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself being changed in the overall process.
What is clinical enzymology?
Is the application of the science
of enzymes to the diagnosis and
treatment of disease
Why should we measure enzymes?
Identify diseases of abnormalities in enzyme concentration or function e.g. inherited metabolic diseases
To detect tissue injury
Since most enzymes are intracellular, how do we measure them?
Small amounts of the intracellular enzymes are routinely detected in plasma as a result of normal cell turnover
Levels of the intracellular enzymes increase following tissue injury
Why do enzyme levels increase?
Leaky membranes (cytosolic enzymes)
Cell necrosis (cytosolic and sub cellular enzymes)
Which enzymes come first in cell injury?
Cytosolic first, then sub-cellular
What are the ‘other’ causes of increased enzymes?
Increased synthesis
Decreased clearance
How are enzymes distributed across tissues?
Few are highly cell specific
Most others more widely distributed
Which tissues make ALP?
Liver
Bone
Placenta
Intestine
How can enzymes be markers of disease?
in serum to detect injury to a tissue that makes the enzymes (increased levels)
in the tissue to identify abnormalities in or absence of the enzymes, which may cause disease (usually decreased levels)
How can iso enzymes help?
Some enzymes may exist in different forms – iso-enzymes
Individual iso-enzymes are characteristic to particular tissues
Measuring an additional enzyme that is released only by one of the tissues in question
What is ALP for?
Present in high concentration in liver, bone, intestine and placenta
Pathological increases most frequently due to liver or bone diseases
Increased in bone diseases associated with increased osteoblastic activity
A 39 year old woman with BMI of 43, presented with elevated alkaline phosphatase and RUQ pain. Your laboratory does not offer iso-enzyme testing. What other enzyme can you measure?
GGT
How can you differentiate the cause of a raised ALP?
Liver and bone ALP can be
differentiated by
GGT measurement
Electrophoretic separation
Bone specific ALP immunoassay now
available
What are the physiological causes of a raised ALP?
Pregnancy (placental ALP) – 3rd trimester
Childhood- especially during growth spurt
What are the pathological causes of a raised ALP?
> 5x Upper limit of normal
Bone ( Pagets, Osteomalacia)
Liver ( cholestasis, cirrhosis)
< 5 x Upper Limit Normal
Bone ( tumours, fractures, osteomyelitis)
Liver (infitrative disease,hepatitis)
ALP not increased in osteoporosis unless complicated by fractures
What is amylase?
Secreted by exocrine pancreas
High serum amylase activity in acute pancreatitis
Usually > 10 times upper limit of normal
Remember salivary isoenzyme exists
Small increases may be seen in other acute abdomen states
What is creatine kinase?
Most widely used marker of muscle damage
Three forms - dimers containing the M (muscle) and B (brain) subunits
CK-MM- skeletal muscles
CK-MB (1 & 2) – cardiac muscles
CK- BB – brain – activity minimal even in severe brain damage
CK-MM accounts for almost entire normal plasma activity
What is statin related myopathy?
Spectrum - myalgia to rhabdomyolysis
Risk Factors
Polypharmacy ( fibrates – gemfibrosil, cyclosporin, other drugs metabolised by the CYP 3A4 system)
High dose
Genetic predisposition
Previous history of myopathy with another statin
What are non MI causes of raised CK?
Muscle damage due to any cause
Myopthy e.g. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (>10xULN)
Myocardial Infarction (>10xULN)
Severe exercise (5xULN)
Physiological – Afro-Caribbean (<5xULN)
What are the ‘other’ uses of enzymes?
Markers of therapeutic response / drug toxicity e.g. Measurement of thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) activity is encouraged prior to commencing the treatment of patients with thiopurine drugs such as azathioprine, 6-mercaptopurine and 6-thioguanine
As reagents for measurement of other substances e.g. Glucose oxidase enzyme used to measure glucose in plasma
What are the consequences of ACS?
Plaque rupture
Intracoronary thrombus
Reduced blood flow
Myocardial ischaemia
Myocardial necrosis
How do cardiac enzymes change in MI?
CK raises first then AST then LDH
How do modern cardiac enzymes change in MI?
Myoglobin then Cardiac troponin and CK-MB then a smaller peak of cardiac troponin
How does the current marker of choice for MI change over time?
The current marker of choice for myocardial injury (not an enzyme!)
Rise 4-6 hours post MI
Peak at 12 -24 hours post MI
Remain elevated for 3 -10 days
When should you measure troponin?
6 and 12 hours after pain onset