Studies on the role of copper and zinc in liver disorders

Copper and zinc have long been identified as essential trace elements which play an important role in human health and disease. Various proteins containing copper and zinc, e.g. ceruloplasmin and alcohol dehydrogenase, are synthesized in the liver and any change in their levels can affect the corresponding trace element balance in the liver. For a deeper understanding of the role of these trace elements in liver disorders, an animal model study was initiated. Liver necrosis was introduced artificially in rats by feeding them with carbon tetrachloride or ethyl alcohol. A few samples of livers from rabbits infected with Hepatitis virus (B-type) were also included in the study. The status of liver damage was determined by histopathological examination as well as SGOT and SGPT enzyme studies. The technique of neutron activation analysis was used to determine the levels of the trace elements in liver. The inherent errors in the analysis were studied and corrections were applied for all sources of error identified. The results obtained indicate that Cu and Zn levels in liver are elevated following CCl4 treatment. The Cu and Zn levels in liver tend to remain elevated even after several weeks of termination of CCl4 treatment, when tissue regeneration had taken place and the SGOT and SGPT levels had fallen down considerably. The changes in Cu and Zn levels in alcohol treatment are marginal. In virus-infected livers the changes in copper and zinc levels are not significant. (author)