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Sensory neuropeptides are not involved in acetaldehyde-induced bronchoconstriction in guinea-pigs.

1. Alcohol-induced asthma is characterized by worsening of asthmatic symptoms after alcohol ingestion. Acetaldehyde, a metabolite of ethanol, is thought to be a main factor of alcohol-induced asthma. Although airway sensory nerves are known to be activated in asthma, there have been no studies investigating the role of tachykinins in the airway response to acetaldehyde. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the involvement of tachykinins on acetaldehyde-induced bronchoconstriction in guinea-pigs. 2. After capsaicin desensitization or intravenous administration of 10 mg kg(-1) FK224, a NK1 and NK2 dual antagonist, airway responses to ascending doses (2.5-20 mg ml(-1)) of inhaled acetaldehyde was examined using a modified Konzett-Rössler method in guinea-pigs. 3. Inhalation of acetaldehyde induced bronchoconstriction in a dose-dependent manner. The FK224 failed to reduce the acetaldehyde-induced bronchoconstriction. Pretreatment with capsaicin did not alter the bronchoconstriction induced by acetaldehyde at a dose of 2.5-10 mg ml(-1). Pretreatment with capsaicin slightly, but significantly, inhibited bronchoconstriction induced by 20 mg ml(-1) of acetaldehyde. 4. The present results suggest that tachykinins are not involved in acetaldehyde-induced bronchoconstriction in guinea-pigs.

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Effect of endotoxin pretreatment on hepatic stellate cell response to ethanol and acetaldehyde.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The role of endotoxin in alcohol-induced liver damage is well recognized. How pre-exposure to endotoxin might affect alcohol injury is not known. We herein studied the effect of endotoxin pretreatment on hepatic stellate cell (HSC) response to ethanol and acetaldehyde. METHODS: Rat HSC (CFSC-2G) were exposed to media supplemented with 1 microg/mL lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This was followed by a 24 h exposure to media containing LPS plus 50 mmol/L ethanol or 175 micromol/L acetaldehyde. Lipid peroxidation, collagen, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 secretion were determined at the end of both periods of exposure. RESULTS: Lipopolysaccharide pretreatment did not modify lipid peroxidation induced by ethanol or acetaldehyde alone. Glutathione (GSH) content decreased to 4.2 +/- 0.5 and 16.3 +/- 0.8 nmol protein after exposure to ethanol or acetaldehyde alone, and decreased further with LPS pretreatment (2.4 +/- 0.2 and 2.7 +/- 0.3 nmol/mg protein, respectively). Oxidized GSH (GSSG) content increased in ethanol and acetaldehyde LPS-pretreated cells only. Collagen secretion increased to 988 +/- 82 and 1169 +/- 91 microg/10(6) cells after exposure to acetaldehyde or LPS alone. Lipopolysaccharide pretreatment enhanced collagen secretion significantly in both ethanol- and acetaldehyde-treated cells (969 +/- 56 and 1360 +/- 72 microg/10(6) cells, respectively). Interleukin-6 production increased to 288 +/- 48, 1195 +/- 86 and 247 +/- 35 pg/mL per 10(6) cells after ethanol, acetaldehyde and LPS exposure, and increased further with LPS pretreatment in ethanol-exposed cells (680 +/- 23 pg/mL 10(6) cells). CONCLUSION: Lipopolysaccharide pretreatment of HSC adds to the damage produced by ethanol and acetaldehyde by diminishing GSH content and increasing GSSG content, collagen and IL-6 secretion.

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Acetaldehyde impairs mitochondrial glutathione transport in HepG2 cells through endoplasmic reticulum stress.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Ethanol impairs the mitochondrial transport of reduced glutathione (GSH), resulting in lower mitochondrial GSH (mGSH) levels. Our purpose was to evaluate the role of acetaldehyde on the regulation of mGSH in HepG2 cells. METHODS: mGSH levels and transport, mitochondrial membrane microviscosity, and lipid composition were determined in mitochondria isolated from acetaldehyde-treated HepG2 cells. RESULTS: The major ultrastructural changes of acetaldehyde-treated HepG2 cells included cytoplasmic lipid droplets and appearance of swollen mitochondria. Acetaldehyde depleted the mGSH pool size in a time- and dose-dependent fashion with spared cytosol GSH levels. Kinetics of GSH transport into isolated mitochondria from HepG2 cells showed 2 saturable, adenosine triphosphate-stimulated, high- and low-affinity components. Treatment with acetaldehyde increased the Michaelis constant for the high- and low-affinity components, with a greater impact on the former. These changes were due to increased mitochondrial microviscosity by enhanced cholesterol deposition because preincubation with the fluidizing agent, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy) ethyl 8-(cis-2-n-octylcyclopropyl) octanoate, normalized the initial transport rate of GSH into isolated mitochondria. Isolated mitochondria from rat liver enriched in free cholesterol reproduced the disturbing effects of acetaldehyde on GSH transport. The acetaldehyde-stimulated mitochondrial cholesterol content was preceded by increased levels of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-responsive gene GADD153 and transcription factor sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 and mimicked by the ER stress-inducing agents tunicamycin and homocysteine. Finally, the mGSH depletion induced by acetaldehyde sensitized HepG2 cells to tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-induced apoptosis that was prevented by cyclosporin A, GSH ethyl ester, and lovastatin. CONCLUSIONS: Acetaldehyde sensitizes HepG2 cells to TNF-alpha by impairing mGSH transport through an ER stress-mediated increase in cholesterol.

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Kinetics of cytochrome P450 2E1-catalyzed oxidation of ethanol to acetic acid via acetaldehyde.

The P450 2E1-catalyzed oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde is characterized by a kinetic deuterium isotope effect that increases K(m) with no effect on k(cat), and rate-limiting product release has been proposed to account for the lack of an isotope effect on k(cat) (Bell, L. C., and Guengerich, F. P. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 29643-29651). Acetaldehyde is also a substrate for P450 2E1 oxidation to acetic acid, and k(cat)/K(m) for this reaction is at least 1 order of magnitude greater than that for ethanol oxidation to acetaldehyde. Acetic acid accounts for 90% of the products generated from ethanol in a 10-min reaction, and the contribution of this second oxidation has been overlooked in many previous studies. The noncompetitive intermolecular kinetic hydrogen isotope effects on acetaldehyde oxidation to acetic acid ((H)(k(cat)/K(m))/(D)(k(cat)/K(m)) = 4.5, and (D)k(cat) = 1.5) are comparable with the isotope effects typically observed for ethanol oxidation to acetaldehyde, and k(cat) is similar for both reactions, suggesting a possible common catalytic mechanism. Rapid quench kinetic experiments indicate that acetic acid is formed rapidly from added acetaldehyde (approximately 450 min(-1)) with burst kinetics. Pulse-chase experiments reveal that, at a subsaturating concentration of ethanol, approximately 90% of the acetaldehyde intermediate is directly converted to acetic acid without dissociation from the enzyme active site. Competition experiments suggest that P450 2E1 binds acetic acid and acetaldehyde with relatively high K(d) values, which preclude simple tight binding as an explanation for rate-limiting product release. The existence of a rate-determining step between product formation and release is postulated. Also proposed is a conformational change in P450 2E1 occurring during the course of oxidation and the discrimination of P450 2E1 between acetaldehyde and its hydrated form, the gem-diol. This multistep P450 reaction is characterized by kinetic control of individual reaction steps and by loose binding of all ligands.

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Evidence of acetaldehyde-protein adduct formation in rat brain after lifelong consumption of ethanol.

Acetaldehyde, the first metabolite of ethanol, has been shown to be capable of binding covalently to liver proteins in vivo, which may be responsible for a variety of toxic effects of ethanol. Acetaldehyde-protein adducts have previously been detected in the liver of patients and experimental animals with alcoholic liver disease. Although a role for acetaldehyde as a possible mediator of ethanol-induced neurotoxicity has also been previously suggested, the formation of protein-acetaldehyde adducts in brain has not been examined. This study was designed to examine the occurrence of acetaldehyde-protein adducts in rat brain after lifelong ethanol exposure. A total of 27 male rats from the alcohol-preferring (AA) and alcohol-avoiding (ANA) lines were used. Four ANA rats and five AA rats were fed 10-12% (v/v) ethanol for 21 months. Both young (n = 10) and old (n = 8) rats receiving water were used as controls. Samples from frontal cortex, cerebellum and liver were processed for immunohistochemical detection of acetaldehyde adducts. In four (two ANA, two AA rats) of the nine ethanol-exposed rats, weak or moderate positive reactions for acetaldehyde adducts could be detected both in the frontal cortex and cerebellum, whereas no such immunostaining was found in the remaining five ethanol-treated rats or in the control rats. The positive reaction was localized to the white matter and some large neurons in layers 4 and 5 of the frontal cortex, and to the molecular layer of the cerebellum. Interestingly, the strongest positive reactions were found among the ANA rats, which are known to display high acetaldehyde levels during ethanol oxidation. We suggest that acetaldehyde may be involved in ethanol-induced neurotoxicity in vivo through formation of adducts with brain proteins and macromolecules.

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Microbes and mucosa in the regulation of intracolonic acetaldehyde concentration during ethanol challenge.

AIMS: The bacteriocolonic pathway for ethanol oxidation leads to high intracolonic levels of carcinogenic acetaldehyde. The respective roles of colonic mucosal cells and gut flora in the regulation of intracolonic acetaldehyde concentration are not known. Disulfiram inhibits hepatic acetaldehyde oxidation and may have an effect on colonic mucosal cells. On the other hand, metronidazole treatment leads to overgrowth of acetaldehyde-producing aerobic flora in the large intestine. The aim of this study was to characterize by means of disulfiram and metronidazole the contribution of colonic mucosal cells and intracolonic microbes to the regulation of intracolonic acetaldehyde concentration during ethanol oxidation in rats. METHODS: Forty male Wistar rats were used. Three groups of 10 rats each received metronidazole, disulfiram, or both for 5 days, and a fourth group of 10 rats served as controls and did not receive any premedication. Faecal samples were taken for the ALDH (aldehyde dehydrogenase) determination before the injection of ethanol, after which all rats received ethanol (1.5 g/kg) 2 h prior to taking samples from blood, liver, colonic mucosa and colonic contents. RESULTS: Disulfiram decreased significantly hepatic and colonic mucosal ALDH activities, and resulted in increased blood and intracolonic acetaldehyde levels. In disulfiram-treated rats, mean intracolonic acetaldehyde level was 8-fold higher than that in the blood. Metronidazole inhibited only colonic mucosal high K(M) ALDH and increased intracolonic, but not blood, acetaldehyde levels. Faecal ALDH activity was not detectable in any of the groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that during ethanol challenge, intracolonic acetaldehyde level is regulated not only by intracolonic microbes, but also by colonic mucosal cells.

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Pathobiological effects of acetaldehyde in cultured human epithelial cells and fibroblasts.

The ability of acetaldehyde, a respiratory carcinogen present in tobacco smoke and automotive emissions, to affect cell viability, thiol status and intracellular Ca2+ levels and to cause DNA damage and mutations has been studied using cultured human cells. Within a concentration range of 3-100 mM, a 1 h exposure to acetaldehyde decreases colony survival and inhibits uptake of the vital dye neutral red in bronchial epithelial cells. Acetaldehyde also causes both DNA interstrand cross-links and DNA protein cross-links whereas no DNA single strand breaks are detected. The cellular content of glutathione is also decreased by acetaldehyde, albeit, without concomitant changes in the glutathione redox status or in the content of protein thiols. Transient or sustained increases in cytosolic Ca2+ occur within minutes following exposure of cells to acetaldehyde. Moreover, acetaldehyde significantly decreases the activity of the DNA repair enzyme O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase. Finally, a 5 h exposure to acetaldehyde causes significant levels of 6-thioguanine resistance mutations in an established mutagenesis model involving skin fibroblasts. The results indicate that mM concentrations of acetaldehyde cause a wide range of cytopathic effects associated with multistep carcinogenesis. The fact that acetaldehyde, in relation to its cytotoxicity, causes comparatively higher genotoxicity and inhibits DNA repair more readily than other major aldehydes in tobacco smoke and automotive emissions is discussed.

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High acetaldehyde levels in saliva after ethanol consumption: methodological aspects and pathogenetic implications.

Chronic ethanol ingestion leads to an enhanced risk of upper gastrointestinal tract cancer. Although many hypotheses for the tumor promoting effect of alcohol exist, the pathogenetic mechanisms remain unclear since alcohol in itself is not carcinogenic. Acetaldehyde, the first metabolite of ethanol, has been shown to have multiple mutagenic effects and to be carcinogenic to animals. Previous research has revealed that acetaldehyde can be formed from ethanol via microbial alcohol dehydrogenase. Thus, at least part of the proposed tumorigenic effect of ethanol may be linked to local production of acetaldehyde from ethanol by oral microflora. In this study we demonstrate the production of marked amounts of acetaldehyde in saliva after ingestion of moderate amounts of ethanol. Considerable inter individual variation in acetaldehyde production capacity is also shown. In vivo acetaldehyde production is significantly reduced after a 3-day use of an antiseptic mouthwash (chlorhexidine). In vitro acetaldehyde production was shown to be linear in time, inhibited by 4-methylpyrazole and it could not be saturated under ethanol conditions that are relevant in vivo. There was a significant positive correlation between salivary acetaldehyde production in vitro and in vivo. We conclude, that the microbial formation of acetaldehyde in saliva could be one explanation for the tumor promoting effect of ethanol on the upper gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, this may support the epidemiological finding, that poor oral hygiene is an independent risk factor for oral cavity cancer.

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Acetaldehyde alters proliferation, differentiation and adhesion properties of human colon adenocarcinoma cell line Caco-2.

Studies with experimental animals indicate that acetaldehyde, the first metabolite of ethanol that is microbially formed in the colonic lumen, may play a role in ethanol-associated colorectal co-carcinogenesis. Although intracoIonic acetaldehyde concentrations are highest during the metabolism of exogenous ethanol, some individuals may also possess marked amounts of endogenous acetaldehyde. Since no information is available concerning the possible effects of acetaldehyde on human colonic epithelial cells, this study was aimed to assess whether this compound, either alone or in combination with ethanol, affects such properties of human neoplastic colonocytes that are considered relevant with regard to cancer development. Human colon adenocarcinoma cell line Caco-2 was used as a model of transformed colonocytes, and effects of acetaldehyde and/or ethanol on the proliferation and differentiation of these cells as well as on their adhesion to collagens I and IV, the most important extracellular matrix proteins in the colon, were studied. The results of this study show that acetaldehyde markedly affects the phenotype of Caco-2 cells without having direct cytotoxic effects. Like many carcinogens, it was found to have a dual effect on cell proliferation rate, acute exposure being inhibitory and chronic exposure stimulating. Acetaldehyde also considerably decreased both sucrase activity and nuclear content of protein kinase A catalytic subunit in Caco-2 cells, which indicate that the differentiation of the cells was disturbed. Moreover, the adhesion of Caco-2 cells to collagens I and IV was dose-dependently reduced by acetaldehyde treatment. All these changes, i.e. enhanced cell proliferation rate (by chronic treatment), decreased differentiation, and reduced adhesion to extracellular matrix proteins, would in vivo predict more aggressive and invasive tumour behaviour. The possibility that colonic intraluminal acetaldehyde, either ethanol-derived or endogenous, might enhance the development of colorectal tumours should therefore be considered.

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Effects of acetaldehyde on cell regeneration and differentiation of the upper gastrointestinal tract mucosa.

BACKGROUND: The tumor-promoting effect of ethanol on cancer of the upper respiratory-digestive tract is not well understood. Although ethanol itself is not carcinogenic, the first product of ethanol metabolism-acetaldehyde is. Acetaldehyde can be produced from ethanol by oral bacteria, and high concentrations have been observed in human saliva after ethanol consumption. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether acetaldehyde administered orally to rats induces altered differentiation and proliferation in the animals' upper gastrointestinal tracts. METHODS: Twenty Wistar rats were given either water containing acetaldehyde at a concentration of 120 mM or tap water to drink for 8 months. Tissue specimens were then taken from the tongue, epiglottis, and forestomach of each animal and immunohistochemically stained for markers of cellular proliferation (Ki67 nuclear antigen) or differentiation (cytokeratins 1, 4, 10, 11, 14, and 19). The mean epithelial thickness of each sample was measured via light microscopy, using an eyepiece containing grid lines. Differences between the control and acetaldehyde-treated groups were analyzed by use of the unpaired Student's t test. All reported P values are two-sided. RESULTS: Although no tumors were observed, staining for cytokeratins 4 and 14 revealed an enlarged basal layer of squamous epithelia in the rats receiving acetaldehyde. In these animals, cell proliferation was significantly greater than that observed in the control animals for samples from the tongue (P<.0001), epiglottis (P<.001), and forestomach (P<.0001). In addition, the epithelia from acetaldehyde-treated rats were significantly thicker than in epithelia from control animals (P<.05 for all three sites). CONCLUSIONS: Acetaldehyde, administered orally to rats, can cause hyperplastic and hyperproliferative changes in epithelia of the upper gastrointestinal tract. This finding suggests that microbially produced acetaldehyde in saliva may explain the tumor-promoting effect of ethanol on these epithelia.

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Specific tandem GG to TT base substitutions induced by acetaldehyde are due to intra-strand crosslinks between adjacent guanine bases.

Acetaldehyde is present in tobacco smoke and automotive exhaust gases, is produced by the oxidation of ethanol, and causes respiratory organ cancers in animals. We show both the types and spectra of acetaldehyde-induced mutations in supF genes in double- and single-stranded shuttle vector plasmids replicated in human cells. Of the 101 mutants obtained from the double-stranded plasmids, 63% had tandem base substitutions, of which the predominant type is GG to TT transversions. Of the 44 mutants obtained from the single-stranded plasmids, 39% had tandem mutations that are of a different type than the double-stranded ones. The GG to TT tandem substitutions could arise from intra-strand crosslinks. Our data indicate that acetaldehyde forms intra- as well as inter-strand crosslinks between adjacent two-guanine bases. Based upon the following observations: XP-A protein binds to acetaldehyde-treated DNA, DNA excision repair-deficient xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) cells were more sensitive to acetaldehyde than the repair-proficient normal cells, and a higher frequency of acetaldehyde-induced mutations of the shuttle vectors was found in XP cells than in normal cells, we propose that the DNA damage caused by acetaldehyde is removed by the nucleotide excision repair pathway. Since treatment with acetaldehyde yields very specific GG to TT tandem base substitutions in DNA, such changes can be used as a probe to identify acetaldehyde as the causal agent in human tumors.

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Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 gene targeting mouse lacking enzyme activity shows high acetaldehyde level in blood, brain, and liver after ethanol gavages.

BACKGROUND: Previously, we created an aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 gene transgenic (Aldh2-/-) mouse as an aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) 2 inactive human model and demonstrated low alcohol preference. In addition, after a free-choice drinking test, no difference in the acetaldehyde level was observed between the Aldh2-/- and wild type (Aldh2+/+) mice. The actual amounts of free-choice drinking were so low that it is uncertain whether these levels are pharmacologically and/or behaviorally relevant in either strain. To elucidate this uncertainty, we compared the ethanol and acetaldehyde concentration in the blood, brain, and liver between the Aldh2-/- and Aldh2+/+ mice after ethanol gavages at the same dose and time. METHOD: We measured differences in the ethanol and acetaldehyde levels between the Aldh2-/- and Aldh2+/+ mice by headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after ethanol gavages at the same dose and time. RESULTS: Significantly higher blood acetaldehyde concentrations were found in the Aldh2-/- mice than in the Aldh2+/+ mice 1 hr after the administration of ethanol gavages at doses of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 5.0 g/kg. The blood acetaldehyde concentrations in the two strains were 2.4 vs. 0.5, 17.8 vs. 1.9, 108.3 vs. 4.3, and 247.2 vs. 14.0 (microM), respectively. In contrast, no significant difference was observed in the blood ethanol concentrations between the Aldh2+/+ and Aldh2-/- mice. The aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 enzyme metabolized 94% of the acetaldehyde produced from the ethanol as calculated from the area under the curve (AUC) of acetaldehyde when ethanol was administered at a dose of 5.0 g/kg. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that mouse ALDH2 is a major enzyme for acetaldehyde metabolism, and the Aldh2-/- mice have significantly high acetaldehyde levels after ethanol gavages.

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Discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol with a conditioned taste aversion procedure: lack of acetaldehyde substitution.

Acetaldehyde has been suggested to mediate a number of the pharmacological and behavioural effects of ethanol. Recently, several studies investigated the role of acetaldehyde in the subjective effects of ethanol, but obtained conflicting results. With the discriminative taste aversion (DTA) procedure, high acetaldehyde doses were shown to substitute for the discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol. In contrast, the operant drug discrimination protocol failed to show any substitution effect of acetaldehyde. Several methodological differences between the two procedures could explain these discrepancies, and particularly the absence of an individual discrimination criterion in the DTA procedure. In the present study, the DTA procedure was adapted to introduce such a criterion. In addition, the effects of acetaldehyde were compared with those of other drugs, for which the substitution effects for ethanol are well known. Rats were trained to discriminate 1.0 g/kg ethanol from saline in a DTA protocol. When the rats met the criterion of ethanol discrimination, various doses of several drugs were tested for their ethanol stimulus substitution effects: ethanol, acetaldehyde, dizocilpine, diazepam and nicotine. The results showed a clear dose-dependent discrimination of ethanol stimulus effects. In addition, dizocilpine fully substituted for ethanol, while diazepam only partially substituted. In contrast, both acetaldehyde and nicotine failed to substitute for ethanol. These results show that acetaldehyde is not significantly involved in the subjective and discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol. Acetaldehyde up to toxic doses did not substitute for the ethanol discriminative stimulus in the DTA protocol, when non-specific effects were carefully controlled.

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Possible mechanism of acetaldehyde-induced noradrenaline release from sympathetic nerve terminals in isolated blood vessels.

1. Vasoconstrictor responses to acetaldehyde were investigated in isolated and perfused canine intermediate auricular (ear) arteries. 2. Single injections of small doses of acetaldehyde (1-3 mumol) induced vasoconstriction in a dose-related manner and showed no tachyphylaxis. On the other hand, large doses of acetaldehyde (10-30 mumol) frequently caused tachyphylaxis when injected at 10 min intervals. 3. After tyramine treatment, constrictions induced by a large dose of acetaldehyde were consistently restored temporarily. 4. The acetaldehyde-induced vasoconstriction was inhibited by bunazosin, a potent alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonist. 5. A small dose of imipramine blocked tyramine-induced vasoconstriction, but had no significant influence on noradrenaline (NA)-induced constrictions, and caused slight potentiation of acetaldehyde-induced constrictions. 6. Hydrocortisone treatment did not modify tyramine-induced vasoconstrictions and slightly suppressed NA- and acetaldehyde-induced constrictions but not significantly. 7. It is suggested that acetaldehyde causes a release of NA from a NA store of the sympathetic nerve terminals which is different from the tyramine-sensitive NA store, and that the acetaldehyde-sensitive NA store may be readily filled up with NA from the tyramine-sensitive store.

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Modification of hemoglobin by acetaldehyde: a time course study by high pressure liquid chromatography.

Acetaldehyde forms stable adducts with proteins, and rapidly eluting hemoglobins on cation exchange chromatography have been found to be elevated in persons consuming excess alcohol. Incubation of hemoglobin hemolysate with 5 mM acetaldehyde at 37 degrees C for various time intervals resulted in linear increases in the amounts of hemoglobin (Hb)A1a+b and HbA1c fractions determined by cation exchange high pressure liquid chromatography. The rate of formation of the HbA1c fraction was significantly higher (p less than 0.001) than that of the HbA1a+b fraction. No increases in the amounts of minor hemoglobins were observed when hemoglobin was incubated with 0.05 mM acetaldehyde. Incubation of hemoglobin with 5 mM acetaldehyde followed by reduction with sodium borohydride (NaBH4) resulted in a significant increase in both HbA1a+b and HbA1c fractions. The rate of formation of the HbA1c fraction was again significantly faster than that of HbA1a+b. Dialysis of nonreduced acetaldehyde-modified hemoglobin had no effect on the amounts of the two minor hemoglobin fractions. Dialysis of NaBH4-reduced acetaldehyde-modified hemoglobin resulted in decreased amounts of the HbA1a+b fractions but no changes in the HbA1c fractions. Incubation with sodium cyanoborohydride led to minimal changes in chromatographic properties of hemoglobin. The clinical utility of acetaldehyde-modified hemoglobin eluting in the HbA1c fraction in the detection of excess alcohol consumption appears to be limited by the high concentration of acetaldehyde required. Furthermore, attempts to stabilize acetaldehyde-Schiff base adducts of hemoglobin with reducing agents must include appropriate controls, since the reductive step alone may lead to changes in the chromatographic properties of hemoglobin.

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Acetaldehyde-induced stimulation of collagen synthesis and gene expression is dependent on conditions of cell culture: studies with rat lipocytes and fibroblasts.

Acetaldehyde has been proposed as a mediator of fibrogenesis in alcoholic liver disease, based in part on its ability to stimulate collagen synthesis by hepatic lipocytes in late primary or passaged culture. In this study, we examined the effect of acetaldehyde on rat lipocytes and fibroblasts at various stages of culture, in an effort to determine whether culture-related events influence responsiveness to this compound. Lipocytes from normal rat liver were studied in primary culture at 3 and 7 days after plating; fibroblasts were studied in subculture, at subconfluent and confluent densities. Both cell types were incubated with 100 microM acetaldehyde for 24 hr followed by measurement of collagen synthesis and type I collagen gene expression. Acetaldehyde had no effect on lipocytes at either 3 or 7 days in primary culture. The inability of acetaldehyde to stimulate collagen synthesis in primary culture was not attributable to toxicity, because cell morphology and total protein synthesis were identical in both treated and untreated cultures. Fibroblasts exhibited a variable response to acetaldehyde that was dependent on cell density: subconfluent cells contained similar amounts of type I collagen mRNA in both the presence and absence of acetaldehyde, whereas confluent cells exhibited a 2- to 3-fold increase in collagen mRNA levels upon acetaldehyde exposure. To determine whether quiescent lipocytes would respond to acetaldehyde in a culture system that mimics the hepatic environment in vivo, lipocytes were plated in coculture with hepatocytes on a basement membrane gel and incubated with 20 mM ethanol for 72 hr. Direct communication between these two cell types did not provoke lipocyte activation, even in the setting of ethanol oxidation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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Vapor phase exposure to acetaldehyde generated from ethanol inhibits bovine bronchial epithelial cell ciliary motility.

Acetaldehyde is a toxic product of the oxidation of ethanol and is known to induce slowing of ciliary motility in airway epithelium. Alcohol ingestion results in high exhaled breath concentrations of ethanol where lung microsomes and upper airway bacterial flora are capable of metabolizing it to acetaldehyde. Because acetaldehyde is very volatile, we hypothesized that the production and release of acetaldehyde vapor into the airway may result in ciliary slowing or ciliastasis. To test this hypothesis, ciliated bovine bronchial airway epithelial cells were maintained on collagen-coated dishes for 48 hr before coincubation with a separate dish containing control or test mixtures. In this arrangement, the ciliated cells were exposed only to the volatile components of the separate dish. The separate dish contained ethanol, acetaldehyde, or an acetaldehyde-generating system (AGS) that consisted of ethanol + glucose + glucose oxidase + catalase. This mixture was placed next to the ciliated cells within in a transparent sealed chamber. Ciliary motility was recorded at room temperature by video microscopy, and ciliary beat frequency was determined using computerized frequency spectrum analysis. Exposure to the AGS resulted in time- and concentration-dependent ciliary slowing with complete ciliastasis, with as low as 20 mM ethanol in the AGS. Direct vapor phase exposure to acetaldehyde alone served as a positive control and also resulted in time-dependent ciliary slowing with complete ciliastasis reached by 4 hr. The AGS-induced ciliastasis was reached 2 hr later than with acetaldehyde alone. When cells were pretreated with cyanamide, which is known to block acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, the time to ciliastasis was decreased by 10-30 min compared with untreated cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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In vitro acetaldehyde formation by human colonic bacteria.

Incubation of human colonic contents with various ethanol concentrations (2.75-44 mM) in vitro at 37 degrees C resulted in significant accumulation of acetaldehyde--a toxic and highly reactive compound. At pH 9.6, all samples produced notable acetaldehyde concentrations (58 (13) microM; mean (SEM)) even from the lowest (2.75 mM) ethanol concentration, and the production of acetaldehyde increased lin-early with rising ethanol concentration (r = 0.97; p < 0.005), reaching a peak concentration of 238 (37) microM at 44 mM ethanol. The formation of acetaldehyde took place rapidly, as almost 50% of acetaldehyde formed during the total eight hour incubation was detectable after one hour, and 75% of the total after four hours. Maximal acetaldehyde production from 22 mM ethanol occurred at pH 9.6 (160 (35) microM) but appreciable concentrations were also seen at pH 7.4 (110 (38) microM) and pH 6.0 (63 (19) microM). At pH 4.0, by contrast, acetaldehyde formation was negligible (17 (5) microM). 4-Methylpyrazole, a potent inhibitor of alcohol dehydrogenase, showed a decreasing effect on acetaldehyde production in vitro but first at a concentration of 100 mM. Considerable acetaldehyde production by human colonic bacteria--if it occurs also in vivo--could constitute a risk factor for rectal cancer in heavy drinkers and also provide a pathogenetic mechanism for alcohol induced diarrhoea.

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