Glyceraldehyde-phosphate dehydrogenase (total and isoenzyme activity) in the early diagnosis of myocardial infarction.

Enzyme "panels," in which creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase activities in serum are measured, are useful indicators of myocardial infarction. We examined a further enzyme, glyceraldehyde-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.12), by comparison with creatine kinase (EC 2.7.3.2), in the early diagnosis of such infarctions. Results indicate that this total dehydrogenase appears in the serum before total creatine kinase activity; however, the lack of cardio-specificity relating to the dehydrogenase isoenzyme fraction 2 in comparison to the creatine kinase MB band is a major disadvantage, as is its relatively poor in vitro stability. We conclude that measurement of this dehydrogenase does not allow a substantially earlier diagnosis of myocardial infarction.