SGOT is a transaminase that catalyzes the reaction:

Oxaloacetate + Glutamate <=> Aspartate + -Ketoglutarate

Both SGOT and serum glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) are important in the clinical diagnosis of human disease. These enzymes, abundant in heart and in liver, are released from cells as part of the cell injury that occurs in myocardial infarction, infectious hepatitis, or other damage to either organ. Assays of these enzyme activities in blood serum can be used both in diagnosis and in monitoring the progress of a patient during treatment.