Ethanol and acetaldehyde metabolism in cultured rat hepatocytes

Abstract

In the present study, ethanol (Et-OH) and acetaldehyde (Ac-CHO) metabolism in primary cultured hepatocytes isolated from chronically alcohol-fed rats were analysed to elucidate the characteristics of the metabolism of Ac-CHO produced through the non-alcohol dehydrogenase (non-ADH) pathway. Dimethyl sulfoxide was added to the culture medium to prevent a decrease in P450 IIE1 activity. Ac-CHO formed in the culture medium was trapped by semicarbazide to prevent a reutilization of Ac-CHO by hepatocytes. The degradation rate of Ac-CHO in the liver was similar in alcohol and non-alcohol-treated rats. Therefore, the characteristic of the metabolism of Ac-CHO in the chronically alcohol-fed rats was not clarified in this study. The possibility that the Ac-CHO trapping by semicarbazide was only 70%, and that the remaining Ac-CHO was reutilized for oxidation in the hepatocytes, should be considered. Some method to trap Ac-CHO completely in the culture medium is needed to clarify the characteristics of Ac-CHO metabolism.