Advances in Life Science and Technology www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-7181 (Paper) ISSN 2225-062X (Online) Vol.42, 2016 11 Assessment of Alpha Fetoprotein Levels and Gamma Glutamyl Transferase Activity in Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Seropositive Subjects in Nnewi, Nigeria Rebecca C. Chukwuanukwu* Patrick O. Manafa Nweke J.O, Charles C.Onyenekwe Augustine C. Ihim Nkiruka R. Ukibe George O.Chukwuma Emmanuel U. Iloghalu. Medical Laboratory Science Department, Faculty of Health Science & Technology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus, PMB 5001 Nnewi, Anambra state, Nigeria This research is financed by the authors Abstract Hepatitis B and hepatitis C viral infections are the leading cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. These conditions, which mar the hepatic functional integrity, are characterized by alterations in the liver function markers such as alpha fetoprotein (AFP) and gamma glutamyl tranferase (GGT). In the present study, a total of 90 subjects were recruited. Out of this number, 30 were hepatitis B seropositive subjects, 30 hepatitis C seropositive individuals and the remaining 30 were apparently healthy individuals. The last group served as the control. Serum alpha fetoprotein levels were estimated by the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technique and the method adopted for the determination of gamma glutamyl transferase activity was the kinetic-spectrophotometric procedure. The mean serum level of alpha fetoprotein was significantly higher in hepatitis B seropositive subjects compared with the control (P<0.05). The same pattern was observed when the mean serum activity of GGT of the hepatitis B seropositive subjects was compared with that of the control (P<0.05). Furthermore, the mean serum level of AFP and the mean serum GGT activity were significantly higher in hepatitis C seropositive individuals compared with the control (P<0.05). In contrast, no significant difference was observed in the mean serum levels of alpha fetoprotein in hepatitis B seropositive individuals compared with that of hepatitis C seropositive subjects (P>0.05). A positive correlation existed between AFP levels and GGT activity in hepatitis B seropositive subjects (r=0.31) and between AFP levels and GGT activity in hepatitis C seropositive subjects (r=0.25). These findings suggest that evaluation of serum alpha fetoprotein levels and gamma glutamyl transferase activity may be a valuable adjunct in the assessment of disease progression in hepatitis B and hepatitis C seropositive individuals. Keywords: Hepatitis, alpha fetoprotein, glatamyl transferase, disease progression. Introduction Hepatitis B is an infectious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) that affects hominoidea, including humans; originally known as "serum hepatitis" (Barker et al., 1996). The disease has caused epidemics in parts of Asia and Africa, and it is endemic in China (Williams, 2006). Hepatitis B virus is a hepadnavirus and although its replication takes place in the liver, the virus spreads to the blood where viral proteins and antibodies against them are found in infected individuals. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with its associated sequelae is a disease of major public health importance worldwide (Alao et al., 2008). HCV infection occurs frequently and is highly endemic in Nigeria (Halim and Ajayi, 2000; Erhabor et al., 2006). The high prevalence of HCV infection and its associated complications, such as liver cirrhosis and diabetes mellitus make HCV infection a disease of major public health importance worldwide and in Nigeria in particular (Araj et al., 1995; Tamim et al., 2001). Hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections could be acute or chronic depending on how long the virus has been incubated in the body (El-Serag, 2011). Chronic forms of the HBV and HCV infections either may be asymptomatic or may be associated with a chronic inflammation of the liver (chronic hepatitis), leading to cirrhosis incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) (Chang, 2007). Across Europe, hepatitis B and hepatitis C cause approximately 50% hepatocellular carcinomas (El-Serag and Rudolph, 2007). Alpha fetoprotein (AFP) is the most abundant plasma protein found in the human fetus and plasma levels decrease rapidly after birth and has been shown to begin to decrease prenatally starting at the end of the first trimester (Chang, 2007). The levels of AFP increases beyond the normal range in pregnancy, hepatocellular carcinoma/hepatoma and yolk sac tumor, neural tube defects, Ataxia telangiectasia (Tamim et al., 2001). Gamma glutamyl transferase is a microsomal enzyme present in the cell membranes of hepatocytes, biliary epithelial cells, renal tubules, pancreas, prostate, intestine, gallbladder, spleen, heart and brain. Its activity is increased most notably in the liver, and has been used as a diagnostic marker (Crook, 2012). The levels of alpha fetoprotein (AFP) and the activity of gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) have been shown to be helpful as hepatic function markers in the assessment of the hepatocellular carcinoma, a common complication of hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections (Barker et al., 1996). Although the correlation of alpha