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PubMedDate not supplied

Phosphatidylinositol composition in pancreas and submaxillary gland of ethanol-fed rats.

The possibility that changes in the stimulus-secretion coupling are involved in the etiology of pancreatitis was investigated by analysis of the molecular composition of the phosphatidylinositols in pancreas of rats fed a liquid ethanol-containing diet and pair-fed controls. The arachidonoyl-containing phosphatidylinositols were about half as abundant in the ethanol-fed rats. Opposite differences were seen for the major species containing linoleoyl, oleoyl or stearoyl groups at C-2. Ethanol-induced lipid peroxidation did not seem to be involved, since carbon tetrachloride administration had no effect on the composition. In the submaxillary gland, that has a similar stimulus-secretion coupling, the arachidonoyl-containing phosphatidylinositols constituted about a 25% smaller fraction in the ethanol-fed rats. Dexamethasone administration did not change the effect. Possibly, decreased secretory response in these glands in ethanol-fed rats is caused by the change in phosphatidylinositol composition.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Steroid profiles in urine and plasma of alcoholics during withdrawal.

Metabolic profiles of steroids in urine and plasma were analyzed in 14 male and four female alcoholics during withdrawal. The daily excretion of 30 conjugated steroids in urine and the concentration of 13 steroid sulfates in plasma were measured on days 1, 7 and 29 of the period of observation, which started on day 5-7 of abstinence. While the total excretion of cortisol metabolites was normal in most cases, the profiles of metabolites were changed in the alcoholics during the period of observation. The ratio between tetrahydrocortisol and tetrahydrocortisone exceeded the mean normal value by more than one standard deviation in 97% of the samples analyzed. The same was true of the ratio between 20-hydroxy and 20-oxosteroids in 90% of the samples. The differences between alcoholic and healthy subjects were statistically significant (p less than 0.001). The major change in plasma was a significantly increased concentration of 5-androstene-3 beta, 17 beta-diol disulfate on the first day of the study. The concentration decreased to normal values during the first month of withdrawal. The rate of excretion of this steroid in urine was increased in half of the patients and also decreased with time. The rate of excretion and the degree of fatty infiltration in liver biopsies were positively correlated. It is suggested that the ratios between cortisol metabolites in urine might be of value as biochemical markers in alcoholism, and that the absolute or relative concentrations of steroid disulfates in plasma might serve as an indicator of recent alcohol intake.

Adult↗