Current state of knowledge concerning the effects of alcohol on biological membranes was reviewed. The influence of chronic alcohol administration on the structure and function of rat liver plasma membranes was studied. Functionally, a diminished response to both glucagon and epinephrine was detected in the isolated perfused rat liver preparation after chronic alcohol feeding. Receptor binding studies identified a decrease in glucagon and alpha(,1)-adrenergic receptor numbers. The binding affinities were not altered. This condition remained stable through 72 hours of alcohol withdrawal. / Further characterization with isopycnic centrifugation showed that the alcoholic plasma membrane spanned a different equilibrium density range with a significantly raised peak density value. This anomaly persisted after 48 hours withdrawal from alcohol. Analyses of lipid composition revealed significant alterations in the phospholipids as well as the fatty acid content in some phospholipid classes of the experimental plasma membranes. However, these modifications were reversed during 48 hours of alcohol withdrawal. Additional changes were noted in some fatty acids of certain phospholipids, reflecting readaptation to the new condition without alcohol. / The discrepancy in the time course of reversal of various alcohol-induced effects suggests that adaptation of the plasma membrane to alcohol includes both the lipids and proteins. A combination of alteration in both these components would contribute to the overall modification of structure and function of rat liver plasma membrane subsequent to chronic alcohol administration.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.68650 |
| Date | January 1982 |
| Creators | Lee, Hung. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Biochemistry) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 000155969, proquestno: AAINK60938, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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