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Alcohol + PLD = Phosphatidylethanol, a Long‐Term Alcohol Biomarker
Author(s) -
Neilsen Paul O.,
Johnson L. Jeff,
Rzepecki Piotr,
Davies Sean
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.635.16
Subject(s) - phosphatidylethanol , ethyl glucuronide , alcohol , binge drinking , alcohol consumption , abstinence , urine , biomarker , ethanol , alcohol intake , medicine , chemistry , physiology , biochemistry , phospholipid , membrane , phosphatidylcholine , psychiatry
Heavy alcohol consumption—both chronic and binge, increases the risk of digestive tract tumors, coronary artery disease, and other health problems. Better biomarkers for consumption and ethanol‐induced organ damage are needed. Direct biomarkers including phosphatidylethanol (PEth), ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and ethylsulfate (EtS) are gaining increased use and acceptance. We first prepared bioanalytical tools and assays then recruited 9 alcohol‐consuming volunteers (2 Heavy, 4 Moderate, 3 Light) in a pilot study. We measured four abundant PEth species by mass spectrometry and anti‐PEth IgG antibodies by ELISA. We found a high correlation between total PEth measured and expected PEth levels depending on amount and timing of ethanol consumption. Interestingly, we observed differences in PEth molecular species based on the amount of alcohol consumed, and even differences between the two heaviest drinkers—one of which drank in a more regular pattern while the other had a number of binge episodes. These observations led to a clinical study where alcohol was administered in both binge and consistent patterns with abstinence periods monitored by continuous alcohol monitoring (CAM) ankle bracelets. We sampled urine for EtG/EtS; serum/plasma for both carbohydrate deficient transferrin (%CDT) and anti‐PEth IgG; and whole blood for PEth. We found the direct biomarkers (PEth, EtG/EtS) were superior to indirect biomarkers (%CDT and anti‐PEth IgG) for detecting alcohol consumption for both drinking patterns at 1, 7 and 21 days post‐consumption. Interestingly, we found that plasma anti‐PEth IgG levels followed blood alcohol concentration in binge‐drinking volunteers indicating preformed, bound IgG is displaced by high blood alcohol levels. Our results indicate that PEth is a valuable biomarker for detecting both acute and consistent alcohol consumption; and that this unique lipid merits further study to better understand its formation, elimination, and impact on the human immune system and alcohol‐related disorders. Support or Funding Information Supported by National Institutes of Health, NIAAA, Contract, HHSN267200800020C to PON. The content of this communication is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism nor the National Institutes of Health. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .