A new tactic for the treatment of jaundice: an injectable polymer-conjugated Bilirubin oxidase |
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| Authors: | M Kimura Y Matsumura Y Miyauchi H Maeda |
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| Institution: | Department of Microbiology, Kumamoto University Medical School, Japan. |
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| Abstract: | Bilirubin oxidase (BOX) derived from Myrothecium verrucaria was modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG). When the conjugated PEG-BOX was given intravenously to rats, its plasma half-life was 20 times longer than that of native BOX. In our preliminary investigations with experimentally jaundiced rats, the plasma bilirubin level dropped to normal after only one injection, and the low bilirubin level could be maintained for 12-48 hr; native BOX had a transitory suppressive effect that lasted only a few hours. The antigenicity of PEG-BOX was greatly reduced as expected. PEG-BOX appears to have potential value for the treatment of hyperbilirubinemia observed in such diseases as fulminant hepatitis and neonatal bilirubin encephalopathy. |
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