Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0023890 (cirrhosis)
 42,195 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The location of acetaldehyde binding sites in the axial unit cell of tendon collagen was investigated by neutron diffraction. Acetaldehyde forms spontaneous cross-links with specific residues in collagen. The use of deuterated acetaldehyde increased the neutron scattering length of these groups. The introduction of deuterated acetaldehyde at specific locations allowed the acetaldehyde-reacted collagen to be treated as multiple isomorphous derivatives for neutron fibre diffraction. The low resolution axially projected structure was determined using amplitudes of the first eight meridional reflections (d = 67 nm). Results indicate that the process of acetaldehyde labelling takes place at different rates at different sites within the collagen fibril. The position of acetaldehyde attachment correlates well with the position of lysine and hydroxylysine residues especially in the regions of the molecular termini. This information is relevant to the process of cirrhosis and fibrosis of the liver since adduction of collagen by acetaldehyde may interfere with normal Schiff base cross-link formation at the C- and N-termini. This may result in subsequent alterations in the intra- and inter-molecular cross-linking pattern of collagen molecules.
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PMID:The in vitro binding of acetaldehyde to collagen studied by neutron diffraction. 798 77

There are genetic and exogenous factors responsible for alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1-AT) deficiency which may lead to cirrhosis of the liver and emphysema. The present study was initiated on a biochemical level in order to determine whether acetaldehyde, the major product of ethanol metabolism, is capable of influencing the physiological effect of alpha 1-AT upon elastase, an enzyme which is capable of inducing emphysema. The effects of acetaldehyde and ethanol upon elastase and alpha 1-AT were tested. Acetaldehyde at 0.3-M and 1.2-M concentrations inhibited the anti-elastase activity of alpha 1-AT. Acetaldehyde at 0.03-M and 0.07-M concentrations did not affect elastase activity and had a slight effect at 0.12-M levels. Equivalent amounts of ethanol were without influence upon elastase activity or alpha 1-AT function. These data provide biochemical support for the possibility that heterozygous males with lower than normal alpha 1-AT levels may be at much higher risk to develop liver disease, emphysema, and alpha 1-AT deficiency as a consequence of chronic exposure to ethanol and concomitant circulating acetaldehyde levels.
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PMID:Acetaldehyde inhibits the anti-elastase activity of alpha 1-antitrypsin. 806 May 17

In alcoholic liver disease, it is well-known that ethanol and its metabolites induce hepatic fibrosis. With progress in injury, the accumulation of extracellular matrix, which consists of type I, III, IV collagen and laminine, occurs in the area of hepatic central vein and perihepatocytes. In these fibrotic areas, the activated lipocytes (transitional cell and myofibroblast, etc), which may be transformed from Ito cell by fibrogenic cytokines, are increased and may play an important role in the progression of alcoholic hepatic fibrosis. Actually, a recent study indicates that chronic ethanol consumption sensitizes the response of lipocytes to TGF beta. It is observed that acetaldehyde and lactate stimulate collagen production and that acetaldehyde increases collagen mRNA expression and collagen gene transcription in cultured human fibroblast. The extracellular matrix is degraded by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). The collagenase activity is decreased in progression of liver cirrhosis and is regulated by fibrogenic cytokines. Acetaldehyde decreases by 50% of the collagenase mRNA expression in fibroblast. It is clear that hepatic fibrosis may progress under the balance of collagen production and degradation, which are associated with fibrogenic cytokines. Thus, in the search for mechanism of alcoholic hepatic fibrosis, it is important to elucidate how ethanol and its metabolites influence the activation of lipocytes through fibrogenic cytokines.
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PMID:[Alcoholic liver cirrhosis]. 811 91

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is one the most serious consequences of chronic alcohol abuse. Liver cirrhosis, the culmination of the illness, is one of the leading causes of death in Western countries. Mitochondria are a target of ethanol intoxication mainly due to the toxic effects of acetaldehyde, a byproduct of ethanol metabolism. Morphological and functional changes in mitochondria are one of the key hallmarks of chronic ethanol exposure in both chronic alcoholics and experimental models of alcoholism. The functional changes observed in mitochondria from ethanol-treated animals are translated in an overall decrease in ATP levels resulting from a lower rate of ATP synthesis as a consequence of impaired processing at the translational level of some components of oxidative phosphorylation encoded by mitochondrial DNA genome. Mitochondrial glutathione (GSH) plays a critical role in the maintenance of cell functions and viability and in mitochondrial physiology by metabolism of oxygen free radicals generated in the respiratory chain. GSH in mitochondria originates from cytosol by a transport system which translocates GSH into the matrix. This transport system is impaired in chronic ethanol-fed rats, which translates in a selective and significant depletion of the mitochondrial GSH content resulting in the development of an increased susceptibility to oxidant stress. Using the intragastric infusion model of experimental ALD in rats, the profound and selective mitochondrial GSH depletion precedes the onset of alcoholic liver disease, mitochondrial lipid peroxidation, and progression of liver damage.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Mitochondrial glutathione depletion in alcoholic liver disease. 812 2

Alcoholism alone, or in combination with other etiologic factors, is a common cause of liver failure because of hepatitis, cirrhosis, and/or hepatocellular cancer. Encountered morphologic and functional alterations are due to immunologic reactivity to cell injury evoked by acetaldehyde, other noxious factors, and nutrient deficits. Less than 20% of subjects who consume over 90 g/d of ethanol for years develop progressive liver damage and cirrhosis. Alcoholism should be interrupted in patients with subclinical hepatic abnormalities. Although early alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis respond to abstinence and symptomatic therapy, available measures have little influence on functional and morphologic abnormalities in end-stage alcoholic liver disease. Resection is desirable for localized hepatocellular cancer, and liver transplantation should be considered for cirrhosis. Transplantation is appropriate for patients with uncomplicated end-stage alcoholic cirrhosis in whom evidence of liver failure can be controlled during a 6-month period of rehabilitation. Continuous psychosocial support is required to prevent recividism in the posttransplant immunosuppressed alcoholic.
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PMID:Alcoholic liver disease. 813 22

Despite recent advances in our knowledge of the mechanisms of alcohol-induced liver damage, abstinence from alcohol and supportive measures remain the mainstays of management for the majority of patients. Progress has been made in our understanding of ethanol metabolism, the role of acetaldehyde, and both genetic and environmental factors responsible for the variation in individual susceptibility to alcoholic liver disease. Evidence for the involvement of the immune system and the effects of alcohol on hepatic fibrosis are also reviewed. Recent therapeutic trials of corticosteroids in acute alcoholic hepatitis have confirmed their benefit in patients who have a high risk of mortality. For patients with end-stage cirrhosis, orthotopic liver transplantation is now an accepted therapy in selected patients who have a good prognosis for future abstinence.
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PMID:Liver damage: mechanisms and management. 814 89

Alcohol causes primary malnutrition by displacing nutrients in the diet and secondary malnutrition via malabsorption and cellular injury through direct cytotoxicity. Hepatotoxicity results from metabolic disturbances associated with the oxidation of ethanol via liver alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and the redox changes produced by the generated NADH (the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), which in turn affects the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and purines. Ethanol is also oxidized in liver microsomes by an ethanol-inducible cytochrome P450, which contributes to the alcoholic's tolerance and his increased vulnerability to the toxicity of industrial solvents, anesthetics, commonly prescribed drugs, over-the-counter analgesics, chemical carcinogens, and retinoids. Increased acetaldehyde generation, with formation of protein adducts, results in antibody production, enzyme inactivation, decreased DNA repair, impaired utilization of oxygen, glutathione depletion, free radical-mediated toxicity, lipid peroxidation, and increased collagen synthesis. Therapy may eventually improve with the use of supernutrients such as S-adenosyl-L-methionine, which replenishes glutathione, restores methylation, and attenuates liver injury, as well as dilinoleoylphosphatidylcholine, which prevents cirrhosis.
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PMID:Herman Award Lecture, 1993: a personal perspective on alcohol, nutrition, and the liver. 823 56

The modifying action of experimentally induced chronic liver injury on diethylnitrosamine (DEN) hepatocarcinogenesis was investigated using a minimal treatment protocol. A single dose of DEN (15 mg/kg b.w.) was administered as a carcinogen to 1-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats. From 3 weeks of age rats received repeated intraperitoneal injections of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), or 10% ethanol or 5% acetaldehyde in the drinking water for 9 weeks. Combinations of CCl4 and ethanol or acetaldehyde were also tested. Morphology, immunohistochemistry for glutathione S-transferase-placental form, and incidence and quantity of preneoplastic lesions of the livers were studied. The chronic CCl4 administration produced complete or incomplete liver cirrhosis and exerted a strong promoting effect on the development of neoplastic nodules. Ethanol alone revealed no cirrhogenous or tumor-promoting effect, but enhanced both actions of CCl4. Acetaldehyde increased only the cirrhogenous effect of CCl4.
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PMID:Effects of carbon tetrachloride, ethanol and acetaldehyde on diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in rats. 833 Feb 98

We have studied the factors determining the rate of ethanol and acetaldehyde metabolism in a group of 25 alcoholics with varying degrees of liver lesion (from normal liver to cirrhosis) and in six nonalcoholic cirrhotics. In alcoholics the ethanol metabolic rate was related to hepatic function, estimated either by the aminopyrine breath test (r = 0.70, p < 0.001) or the indocyanine green clearance (r = 0.76, p < 0.01), and was independent of the activity of hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase and hepatic blood flow. In nonalcoholic cirrhotics blood acetaldehyde was always below the detection limit (0.5 microM), but elevated levels were found in 14 out of the 25 alcoholics. Alcoholics with elevated blood acetaldehyde showed a significantly higher ethanol metabolic rate than alcoholics with undetectable acetaldehyde (120 +/- 17 mg/kg/hr vs 104 +/- 11 mg/kg/hr, p < 0.02), but no differences were observed in the activities of alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenases. Peak blood acetaldehyde levels were directly related to the ethanol metabolic rate (r = 0.48, p < 0.02), but not to activities of hepatic alcohol or aldehyde dehydrogenases. These results indicate that in chronic alcoholics the main determinant of the ethanol metabolic rate is hepatic function, while the rise of blood acetaldehyde is mainly dependent on the ethanol metabolic rate. Alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase activities do not seem to be rate-limiting factors in the oxidation of ethanol or acetaldehyde.
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PMID:Determinants of ethanol and acetaldehyde metabolism in chronic alcoholics. 845 8

Increased acetaldehyde levels have been found in non-alcoholic liver diseases and an acetaldehyde-collagen adduct has been reported in rats with CCl4-induced cirrhosis. In cytosol and microsomes of rats with cirrhosis produced by N-nitrosodimethylamine, a similar acetaldehyde-protein adduct of approximately 200 kD was recognized by rabbit IgG raised against either an in vitro produced hemocyanin-acetaldehyde adduct or an in vivo occurring P4502E1-acetaldehyde adduct isolated from alcohol-fed rats, as well as by anti-rat collagen (I) IgG. Its immune complexes contained 3 proteins that reacted with the anti-collagen IgG and were digested by collagenase: 2 proteins with molecular weights similar to procollagens alpha 1 and alpha 2, and a beta 1,2(I)-like protein which was readily produced by in vitro modification of cytosol with acetaldehyde.
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PMID:Acetaldehyde-collagen adducts in N-nitrosodimethylamine-induced liver cirrhosis in rats. 846 25


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