A case of immunoglobulin-complexed glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT)

A 48-year-old woman, who had been treated as liver dysfunction for over 2 years, visited Tokyo Musashino Hospital. She was apparently healthy. However, only serum GOT level was abnormally high (203mU/ml), which persisted for the following 9 months. She was admitted to the hospital for further examination in March 1987, with the data of serum GOT level as high as 305mU/ml. Heart and muscle disease was excluded. Liver biopsy specimen revealed no evidence of chronic liver disease. Transaminases levels of hepatic cytosol were normal. The patients'serum showed an atypical GOT migrated to a position of slow-βglobulin by electrophoresis. Then, the atypical GOT was found to be an immunoglobulin (IgGκ)-complexed macromolecule of supernatant GOT. We report a present case with reference of 23 cases reported before. Physicians should be aware of this phenomenon so patients are not subjected to unnecessary examinations or treatments.