Evidence for acetaldehyde adducts formation in hepatic microsomes and cytosol of guinea pig after chronic ethanol administration

Formation of acetaldehyde (AcH) adducts was demonstrated in the liver of experimental animals after ethanol consumption. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human hemoglobin (Hb) were incubated with 240 mM of AcH without reducing agent. Rabbit was immunized with the BSA-AcH adduct, and IgG fraction of sera of rabbit was affinity-purified by the column liganded with the Hb-AcH adduct. Guinea pigs were fed with free access to 20% ethanol solution for 40 days. Hepatic subcellular fractions of guinea pig were applied to two dimensional electrophoresis according to O'Farrell's method and transfered to nitrocellulose membrane. AcH adducts were immunochemically detected by using the purified IgG fraction and peroxidase reaction. Several spots of AcH adducts were detected in cytosol and microsomes of guinea pigs fed ethanol chronically, but not in those of control animals. These data demonstrate that chronic ethanol consumption leads to the formation of stable AcH adducts both in hepatic microsomes and cytosol of guinea pig under the physiological condition.