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Enhanced biliary gamma‐glutamyltransferase excretion following prolonged alcohol consumption in rats
Author(s) -
TESCHKE R.,
KRUKENBERG S.,
STREMMEL W.,
NISHIMURA M.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
european journal of clinical investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.164
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1365-2362
pISSN - 0014-2972
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2362.1987.tb02199.x
Subject(s) - medicine , gamma glutamyltransferase , excretion , endocrinology , chemistry , alcohol , ethanol , calorie , bile acid , biology , biochemistry , enzyme
. In order to study the question of whether chronic ethanol consumption may alter the biliary excretion of gamma‐glutamyltransferase (γ‐GT), female rats were pair‐fed nutritionally adequate liquid diets containing either ethanol (36% of total calories) or isocaloric carbohydrates for 24 days. Compared to pair‐fed controls, the administration of the alcohol‐containing diet resulted in an increased biliary excretion of γ‐GT (5·84±0·73 mU 6 h ‐1 100 g ‐1 b.w. vs. 8·82±0·79, P <0·001). This was associated with a corresponding enhanced biliary output of total bile acids. An apparent linear relation between the biliary output rates of γ‐GT and those of total bile acids was observed both in alcohol‐fed animals ( r = 0·83) and in their pair‐fed controls ( r = 0·95). In addition, there was a significant increase of gamma‐glutamyltransferase activities in the liver homogenate and in liver plasma membranes, both in fractions rich in bile canalicular and basolateral membranes and in those rich in blood sinusoidal site. Serum gamma‐glutamyltransferase activities as well as serum bile acid concentrations were also enhanced by 96·8% ( P <0·001) and 233% ( P <0·001), respectively. These data show that chronic alcohol consumption enhances hepatic γ‐GT activities, leading to an increased efflux of γ‐GT into the bile and possibly into the blood out of the liver cell. Furthermore, these data suggest the involvement of bile acids with their solubilizing properties for the biliary excretion of γ‐GT.