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Effect of Ethanol on Platelet Function
Author(s) -
Rubin Raphael
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1999.tb04234.x
Subject(s) - platelet , ethanol , function (biology) , chemistry , medicine , biology , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology
Epidemiological studies have linked an inhibition of platelet function by ethanol, among other factors, to the cardioprotective effects of moderate ethanol consumption. Platelet defects have been noted in alcoholics and in human experimental studies. Importantly, in in vivo experimental settings, ethanol diminishes thrombus formation on damaged arterial walls. Ethanol inhibits platelet activation in vitro in response to diverse agonists. Phospholipase A 2 is a major site for ethanol inhibition, corresponding to a reduction in the formation of stimulatory arachidonate metabolites. Additional signal transduction pathways are likely targets for ethanol including phosphoinositide‐specific phospholipase C and cyclic AMP. The role of additional cofactors in the inhibition of platelet responses by ethanol is discussed.