Heparin-induced increase in plasma and serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity

gamma-Glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) activity may be a sensitive index of hepatobiliary dysfunction. GGT activity, however, has been shown to be affected by several factors in different clinical situations. The present study was designed to determine the effect of heparin on serum and plasma GGT activity. Blood samples were collected from 15 normal male Wistar rats weighing 200-250 g for the determination of GGT activity in plasma prepared with heparin (group P(H), N = 10), in serum (group S, N = 15) and in serum with heparin added (group S + H, N = 10). GGT activity was 45.1 +/- 9.5 U/l (mean +/- SD) for serum compared with 161.2 +/- 46.1 U/l for serum plus heparin and 93.3 +/- 30.9 U/l for plasma prepared with heparin. The mean for each group was significantly different from the means for the other groups. These data demonstrate that GGT activity measurements should be made on serum in the absence of heparin, which produces elevated results.