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Updated: Sep 15, 2026
One-step Metabolomics: Carbohydrates, Organic and Amino Acids Quantified in a Single Procedure
Published on: June 26, 2010
A novel method for measuring serum ornithine carbamoyltransferase
Hiroaki Ishikawa1, Takeo Matsuzawa, Koji Ohashi
1Department of Medical Technology, Fujita Health University College, Toyoake, Aichi 470-1192, Japan. hishikaw@fujita-hu.ac.jp
Background:
Serum ornithine carbamoyltransferase is a diagnostic marker of hepatic disorders due to its localization in periportal mitochondria.
Methods:
We have developed a new method for the determination of serum ornithine carbamoyltransferase. It is based on the reverse reaction of ornithine carbamoyltransferase, using ornithine-ketoacid aminotransferase, Delta(1)-pyrroline-5-carboxylate dehydrogenase and glutamate dehydrogenase, which together convert citrulline through ornithine to glutamate. The glutamate is then quantitatively measured using glutamate oxidase and Trinder's reagent.
Results:
The results obtained by this method agreed well with those obtained using the diacetylmonoxime method as a gold standard [correlation coefficient (r) = 0.973 P<0.001]. The endogenous amino acids sensitive to this method in serum (glutamate, ornithine and Delta(1)-pyrroline-5-carboxylate) were eliminated by the initial futile reaction. The new method appears to be more accurate at low levels of ornithine carbamoyltransferase activity than the diacetylmonoxime method.
Conclusions:
Here we report a new method for serum ornithine carbamoyl-transferase assay which might be useful for clinical diagnosis of hepatic disorders, including hepatic cancer.
