HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHIC STUDIES OF ERYTHROCYTE HEME BIOSYNTHETIC ENZYME-ACTIVITIES IN ALCOHOLIC MACROCYTOSIS

The activities of 5‐aminolaevulinate dehydrase (ALA‐D), hydroxymethylbilane synthase (HMB‐S), uroporphyrinogen III synthase (URO‐S) and uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (URO‐D) in the erythrocytes of alcoholics were assayed and compared with those in controls and abstaining alcoholics. The HMB‐S and URO‐S activities in alcoholics were significantly higher than the controls and there were significant correlations between enzyme activities and mean corpuscular volume (MCV). Alcoholics abstaining from alcohol over a nine‐month period showed a return to normal enzyme activities in parallel with the normalization of their MCV. Abstaining alcoholics thus all had normal HMB‐S and URO‐S activities. The ALA‐D and URO‐D activities of alcoholics were not significantly different from controls or from abstaining alcoholics. Alcohol appears to have a selective effect on the haem biosynthetic enzymes in the erythron. Copyright © 1990 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.