The Balance of Ketoacids α-Ketoglutarate and α-Ketoglutaramate Reflects the Degree of the Development of Hepatoencephalopathy in Rats.

Hepatoencephalopathy (HE) is a liver disease that can lead to brain pathology and the impairment of human cognitive abilities. The objective assessment of HE disease severity is difficult due to the lack of reliable diagnostic markers. This paper examines the background to the emergence of HE markers and provides a brief overview of research results indicating the diagnostic value of potential markers isolated from a wide range of metabolites analyzed. It has been suggested that metabolites of the glutamate-glutamine (Glu-Gln) cycle, α-ketoglutarate (αKG), and α-ketoglutaramate (αKGM) can act as such markers of HE. The informative value of these markers was revealed during a comparative analysis of the distribution of αKG and αKGM in samples of the blood plasma and tissues (liver, kidneys, and brain) of rats exposed to the strong hepatotoxin thioacetamide (TAA). A comparative analysis of the balance of αKG and αKGM, as well as their ratio (αKG/αKGM) in the examined samples of blood plasma and animal tissues in these models, revealed their diagnostic value for assessing the severity of HE and/or monitoring the recovery process.