Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 1999 Jul 15:4:e42-6.
doi: 10.2741/A478.

Mechanisms of alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity: studies in rats

R G Thurman  1 , B U Bradford, Y Iimuro, M V Frankenberg, K T Knecht, H D Connor, Y Adachi, C Wall, G E Arteel, J A Raleigh, D T Forman, R P Mason
Affiliations
Review

Mechanisms of alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity: studies in rats

R G Thurman et al. Front Biosci. .

Abstract

Alcohol treatment results in increases in the release of endotoxin from gut bacteria and membrane permeability of the gut to endotoxin, or both. Females are more sensitive to these changes. Elevated levels of endotoxin activate Kupffer cells to release substances such as eicosanoids, TNF-alpha and free radicals. Prostaglandins increase oxygen uptake and most likely are responsible for the hypermetabolic state in the liver. The increase in oxygen demand leads to hypoxia in the liver, and on reperfusion, alpha-hydroxyethyl free radicals are formed which lead to tissue damage in oxygen-poor pericentral regions of the liver lobule.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types