The hepatic
zinc content was determined in liver biopsies of patients with alcoholic and nonalcoholic
liver disease using
proton-induced X-ray emission. The values obtained in postmortem specimens of the liver from 27 patients with no evidence of acute or chronic
liver disease served as controls. The mean value and the range of the
zinc content in the controls (75 +/- 24 ppm wet weight) are in good agreement with those reported in the literature. The hepatic
zinc content in the control group showed no significant age or sex dependence. The mean
zinc content was significantly decreased in all groups of patients with
alcoholic liver disease. The decrease was comparable in biopsies from patients with
alcoholic fatty liver (-56.7%, n = 12), mild
alcoholic hepatitis (-50.5%, n = 6) and
alcoholic cirrhosis (-45.6%, n = 10). The hepatic
zinc content was also distinctly reduced in patients with
chronic active hepatitis (-60.3%, n = 15) and in those with
chronic persistent hepatitis (-44.9%, n = 8). The estimation of the
zinc content in subcellular fractions of the liver performed in postmortem specimens from seven patients with
alcoholic liver cirrhosis and in six controls revealed a significant reduction in the
zinc content in the fraction containing cell nuclei and membranes and in the mitochondrial fraction. A similar decrease was seen in the 100,000 g supernatant; however, the difference did not attain statistical difference. The
zinc content of the microsomal fraction in the controls was lower than in the other three cell fractions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)