Effect of chronic ethanol consumption and acetaldehyde on partial reactions of oxidative phosphorylation and CO2 production from citric acid cycle intermediates

Arthur I. Cederbaum, Charles S. Lieber, Emanuel Rubin

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Abstract

In isolated hepatic mitochondria, the oxidation of NAD+-dependent substrates was decreased after chronic consumption of ethanol or by the addition of acetaldehyde in vitro. Reversed electron transport from succinate to NAD-, which requires transfer of electrons through the NADH dehydrogenase complex and energy transduction through coupling site 1, was depressed by ethanol feeding and by acetaldehyde in vitro, whereas NADH formation from glutamate, which is mediated directly by substrate oxidation and is not energy-dependent, was slightly increased. By contrast, reactions involving the terminal portion of the phosphorylation chain, e.g., ATP-32P exchange or dinitrophenolstimulated ATPase activity, were not affected. Adenine nucleotide translocase activity was not altered by chronic consumption of ethanol or the addition of acetaldehyde in vitro. These data suggest that the NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase complex of the respiratory chain, a segment which contains several iron-sulfur centers which participate in electron transport and energy transduction, may be impaired by chronic consumption of ethanol and is especially sensitive to inhibition by acetaldehyde in vitro. Neither energy coupling sites II or III, nor the terminal reactions of oxidative phosphorylation share this sensitivity. CO2 production from various labeled intermediates of the citric acid cycle was depressed after chronic consumption of ethanol and after the addition of acetaldehyde. Acetate had no effect on these reactions, indicating that the inhibition by acetaldehyde is not mediated via acetate. Impairment of the activities of the respiratory chain and the citric acid cycle, or both, may explain the decreases in oxygen uptake and CO2 production from citric acid cycle intermediates and fatty acids, as well as the increase in ketone body production, found in mitochondria from ethanolfed rats.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)525-538
Number of pages14
JournalArchives of Biochemistry and Biophysics
Volume176
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1976
Externally publishedYes

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