[The aldehyde dehydrogenase activity in the erythrocytes of alcoholic patients]. / Aktivnost' al'degiddegidrogenazy v éritrotsitakh bol'nykh alkogolizmom.

Red cell aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH, EC 1.2.1.3) activity was measured by spectrophotometry in normal subjects and alcoholics after various periods of alcohol abstinence. ALDH was measured in all red cell hemolysate fractions; red cells were purified from hemoglobin by Sephadex CM-50 chromatography. The enzyme activity was found reduced in alcoholics' red cells as against that in controls. ALDH activities were somewhat increasing and approaching the normal values in the patients not using ethanol for 4 weeks or longer. These results recommend ALDH measurements in human red cells as a test for the detection of subjects abusing alcohol.

[Dynamics of activity of creatine kinase and its isoenzymes in the serum of patients with alcoholism]. / Dinamika aktivnosti kreatinkinazy i ee izofermentov v syvorotke krovi bol'nykh alkogolizmom.

Activity of creatine kinase (CK) and its isoenzymes was studied in blood serum of 32 patients with alcohol abstinent syndrome of various severity as well as in persons with long-term remission (from 1 to 14 years) as compared with the enzymatic activity in healthy volunteers. The severity of alcohol abstinent syndrome correlated with an increase in the total enzyme activity in blood, where content of the all three CK isoenzymes (MM, MB and BB), especially of BB-CK, was elevated. Content of MB and BB isozymes was increased in blood of patients with long-term remission, while activity of each of the isozyme constituted up to 20-30% of total CK activity, which was by one decimal order higher as compared with control values. Importance of the alterations observed in activity of creatine kinase and its isoenzymes for diagnosis of alcoholism, especially under conditions of alcohol abuse and long-term alcohol abstinence, is discussed.

[The harmful action of ethanol on the liver: the role of alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase]. / Povrezhdaiushchee deistvie étanola na pechen': rol' alkogol'degidrogenazy i al'degiddegidrogenazy.

White rats were divided into water-preferring (WP) and ethanol-preferring (EP) groups, on the basis of their preferable drink: either water or 15% solution of ethanol. Each of these groups was then subdivided into groups which were given to drink for 1 year 15% solution of ethanol (ethanol-treated) or water (controls). Alcohol dehydrogenase/aldehyde dehydrogenase activity ratios (ADH/AlDH) in livers of WP controls were considerably higher than those in EP controls. The difference in ADH/AlDH has somewhat decreased after ethanol treatment. However, this ratio remained the highest in the WP alcohol-treated group. The signs of proteinic and lipid dystrophy of the liver in alcohol-treated WP rats were expressed much more clearly than in all other groups. It is concluded that in the liver of animals with a high ADH/AlDH ratio there are favourable conditions for accumulation of a toxic hepatocyte-damaging acetaldehyde.

[Effect of an antiserum to brain gamma gamma-enolase (protein 14-3-2) on ethanol consumption by rats]. / Vliianie antisyvorotki k gamma gamma-enolaze mozga (belku l4-3-2) na potreblenie étanola krysami.

The influence of intracisternal administration of antiserum to the neurospecific brain gamma gamma-enolase (aS-gamma gamma) on the consumption of 7.5% ethanol solution by rats was studied. Injection of aS-gamma gamma decreased the ethanol intake by the rats which had been drinking 15% solution of ethanol for 7 months as a single source of liquid. In vitro aS-gamma gamma caused 4-fold inhibition of the gamma gamma-enolase activity while it did not influence the alpha alpha-enolase activity. Intracisternal administration of aS-gamma gamma shifted enolase isoenzyme spectra in the direction of the decrease of gamma gamma-enolase content. It is suggested that the effect of aS-gamma gamma on ethanol consumption is due to inhibition of the activity of gamma gamma-enolase which participates in energy metabolism in neurons.

[Decreased ethanol consumption by rats as affected by central alpha-adrenoblockaders: the role of liver aldehyde dehydrogenase isoenzymes]. / Snizhenie potrebleniia étanola krysami pod vliianiem tsentral'nykh al'fa-adrenoblokatorov: rol' izoferementov al'degiddegidrogenazy pecheni.

It has been shown in the experiments on rats that subcutaneous administration of central alpha-adrenoblockers IEM-611 (30 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg) and phenoxybenzamine (10 mg/kg) for one or two weeks brings about a decrease in voluntary ethanol consumption at early stages of experimental alcoholism (3-week alcoholization). In rats with chronic alcoholization for 6 months only IEM-611 had a remarkable inhibitory effect on alcohol consumption. Moreover, it has been stated that IEM-611 reduced threefold the activity of liver aldehyde dehydrogenase (AlDH) by the inhibition of AlDH isoenzymes with low and high Km for acetaldehyde. Phenoxybenzamine inhibited slightly only low Km AlDH. It is suggested that differences in IEM-611 and phenoxybenzamine effects may be associated with specific drug inhibition of AlDH isoenzymes.

[Effect of intracisternal administration of antisera against neurospecific enolase (protein 14-3-2) on avoidance behavior in rats]. / Vliianie vnutritsisternal'nogo vvedeniia antisyvorotok k neirospetsificheskoi enolaze (belku 14-3-2) na povedenie izbeganiia krys.

The antisera to three isoenzymes (alpha alpha, alpha gamma, and gamma gamma) of the rat neurospecific enolase were studied. gamma gamma-antiserum administered into the brain cistern (8 microliters) prior to learning, in contrast to two other antisera, impaired the retrieval of passive avoidance response within 1-28 days after learning. Maximal amnestic effect occurred in the first 3 days. Probable mechanisms of the neurospecific enolase participation in the formation of memory traces, are discussed.

[Ceruloplasmin activity and content of the blood of persons with acute and chronic alcoholic intoxication]. / Aktivnost' i soderzhanie tseruloplazmina v krovi liudei pri ostroi i khronicheskoi alkogol' noi intoksikatsii.

The concentrations of the enzymatically active and immunoreactive ceruloplasmin (CP) were determined in the blood serum of healthy men by means of the spectrophotometric and immuno-electro-photometric methods. Part of the total (immunoreactive) CP (15%), circulated in the blood channel in an enzymatically inactive state. The increase of the time of suffering from chronic alcoholism from 1 to 29 years leads to the growth of the concentrations of CP possessing enzymatic activity and of immunoreactive CP. The share of the enzymatically inactive protein remains practically constant. During acute alcohol intoxication there is a temporal drop of the C1 share in enzymatically active state with a constant concentration of the total protein in the blood serum.

[Alcohol dehydrogenase activity of human and animal blood serum in acute and chronic alcoholic intoxication]. / Aktivnost' alkogol'degidrogenazy syvorotki krovi cheloveka i zhivotnykh pri ostroi i khronicheskoi alkogol'noi intoksikatsii.

Alcohol dehydrogenase activity (ADH; KP 1.1.1.1.) in blood serum of rats and rabbits is 1 and 2 orders of magnitude higher than in humans. In chronic alcoholics, blood ADN is activated with an increase in alcoholism standing. Twelve hours after acute alcoholic intoxication alcoholics and heavy drinkers manifest a significant reduction in blood ADH activity. Acute alcoholic intoxication does not influence blood ADH in men who do not abuse alcohol. Chronic exposure of rabbits to ethanol leads to a decrease in ADH activity in the liver and to its rise in the blood. ADH activation is observed only in those animals which demonstrate the signs of fatty and protein liver dystrophy. It is concluded that chronic exposure to ethanol does not induce ADH synthesis in the liver. The blood ADH content ascends as a results of an increase in ADH transport from hepatocytes to the bloodstream.

[Alcohol dehydrogenase in the blood of healthy people and in patients with chronic alcoholism]. / Alkogol'degidrogenaza syvorotki krovi zdorovykh liudei i bol'nykh khronicheskim alkogolizmom.

Activity of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) was estimated using highly sensitive spectrophotometric procedure with p-nitrose dimethylaniline as a substrate in blood serum of control healthy persons without a history of alcohol abuse and of the patients with chronic alcoholism. The ADH activity in the control group was about 0.55 +/- 0.04 microM/min/L and in the patients it was 2.5-5-fold higher. A direct correlation was found between the ADH activity and duration of alcohol abuse. In the patients with alcohol abstention syndrome the activity of ADH was 4.2-fold higher as compared with controls. During the remission, from 2 months up to 5 years, the enzymatic activity decreased, but was still distinctly higher than the control values.

[Effect of acute alcoholic intoxication on the antigenic composition of soluble proteins in the rat brain]. / Vliianie ostroi alkogol'noi intoksikatsii na antigennyi sostav rastvorimykh belkov mozga krys.

Cross immunoelectrophoresis was used to study antigenic composition of the brain of rats preferring water, or 15% ethanol and of intermediate group animals. The rat brain showed 6 antigens, one of them was found to be neurospecific. The intermediate group animals and those preferring ethanol differed from those preferring water in that they demonstrated two antigens which were found to be neuro-nonspecific. The content of the neurospecific protein S-100 in the cerebellum measured by rocket immunoelectrophoresis was demonstrated to be the same in animals preferring water and ethanol. A single intraperitoneal injection of 25% ethanol (2.5 g/kg) to the intermediate group rats brought about a change in the composition of neuro-nonspecific soluble antigens of the brain.

[Concentration of lipids and apolipoproteins A-1 and E in blood plasma of men with acute alcohol intoxication]. / Kontsentratsiia lipidov i apolipoproteinov A-1 i E v plazme krovi muzhchin pri ostroi alkogol'noi intoksikatsii.

Content of lipids and apolipoproteins A-1 and E was studied in blood plasma of men with acute alcohol intoxication as well as within 10-12 hrs after their treatment in a special clinic. Acute alcohol intoxication caused a distinct increase of triglycerides as well as of cholesterol in high and very low density lipoproteins simultaneously with decrease in content of cholesterol in low density lipoproteins. At the same time, content of apolipoprotein A-1 was increased and of apo E--unaltered. Within 12 hrs after treatment of the men concentrations of triglycerides and cholesterol of very low density lipoproteins became quite normal but the other patterns studied did not alter. Alcohol appears to affect the distribution of cholesterol between individual lipoprotein fractions in blood. This process depended distinctly on alteration of apo A-1 concentration in blood plasma.

[Effect of central adrenergic alpha receptor blockader IEM-611 on the activity of alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase in rat liver]. / Vliianie tsentral'nogo alpha-adrenoblokatora IEM-611 na aktivnost' alkogol'- i al'degiddegidrogenaz v pecheni krys.

The effect of IEM-611 (30 mg/kg) on alcohol consumption in rats under the conditions of voluntary choice between water and 15% ethanol was studied as that on alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) in postmitochondrial supernatant and in NAD-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenases (A1DH) in liver mitochondria. Administration of IEM-611 during 6 or 12 days reduces ethanol consumption by 29 and 30%, respectively, activates ADH and appreciably decreases overall activity of NAD-dependent A1DH. At the same time the ADH/A1DH ratio increases. Activation of ADH and A1DH and the decreased ADH/A1DH ratio were disclosed in alcohol preferring rats as compared to water preferring animals. IEM-611 shifts enzymatic activity of ethanol metabolism towards the level characteristic for water preferring rats. It is suggested that variation of the ADH/A1DH ratio is one of the mechanisms responsible for the decreased ethanol consumption in rats.

[Concentration of lipids and apolipoproteins A-I, A-II and E in blood plasma of men with chronic alcoholism]. / Kontsentratsiia lipidov i apolipoproteinov A-I, A-II i E v plazme krovi muzhchin, stradaiushchikh khronicheskim alkogolizmom.

Content of lipids and apolipoproteins A-I, A-II and E was studied in blood plasma of patients with chronic alcoholism under conditions of alcoholic abstinence syndrome and remission. Concentration of total cholesterol was higher by 10% in patients with alcoholic abstinence syndrome as compared with the control group of patients studied at the state of remission. Content of cholesterol in high density lipoproteins was increased up to 76.7 mg/100 ml as compared with 45.7 mg/100 ml in the controls. The increase in cholesterol content was accompanied by elevation in concentration of apo A-I from 132 to 169 mg/100 ml, whereas the content of apo A-II was increased by 9.2 mg/100 ml. In the patients the content of apo E tended to decrease. Content of triglycerides was increased by 20-25% in blood. All the alterations in concentration of lipids and apolipoproteins returned to the normal level after 3-4 weeks of abstinence from alcohol intake. The increase in content of cholesterol in high density lipoproteins and of these lipoproteins was apparently due to stimulation of these substances formation and inhibition of their catabolism in liver tissue impaired with alcohol.

[Isolation of apolipoproteins A-I, A-II and E and their estimation by rocket immunoelectrophoresis in blood plasma of dis-alpha-lipoproteinemic patients]. / Vydelemie apolipoproteinov A-I, A-II i E i ikh kolichestvennoe opredelenie metodom raketnogoimmunoelektroforeza v plazme krovi lits s dis-alpha-lipoproteidemiiami.

The methods for isolation of pure apolipoproteins A-I, A-II and E from the blood plasma of donors for preparation of monospecific rabbit antisera against these apolipoproteins and their estimation in human blood plasma using immunoelectrophoresis are described. It was found that the average content of apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I) in the blood plasma of healthy males is 126.6 mg%, that of apolipoprotein A-II (apo A-II) is 56.8 mg%, that of apolipoprotein E (apo E) is 10.2 mg%. The apo A-I content in blood plasma is increased in hyper-alpha-lipoproteinemic patients and is decreased in hypo-alpha-lipoproteinemic ones, i. e. there is a direct relationship between the changes in concentration of high density lipoproteins (HDL) and apo A-I. The concentration of apo A-II in dis-alpha-lipoproteinemias varies within a narrow range. A considerable increase of the alpha-cholesterol/apo A-I ratio suggesting an increased capacity of HDL to transport cholesterol in hyper-alpha-lipoproteinemic patients is observed. There exists an indirect correlation between the changes in the contents of apo A-I and apo E in dis-alpha-lipoproteinemic patients.

[Apolipoproteins A-I, A-II and E as well as high density lipoproteins in blood of persons with dis-alpha-lipoproteinemias]. / Apolipoproteiny A-I, A-II i E i lipoproteidy vysokoi plotnosti v krovi liudei pri dis-al'fa-lipoproteidemiiakh.

Content of apo A-I constitute 136 mg/100 ml, of apo A-II--64 mg/100 ml and of apo E--10 mg/100 ml in blood plasma of 20--60 years old men with normal concentration of cholesterol (alpha-CS) in blood. In the patients with hyper-alpha-lipoproteinemia (alpha-CS was above 76 mg per 100 ml) concentrations of apo A-I and apo A-II were distinctly higher (173 and 71 mg per 100 ml, respectively) and that of apo E--was lower (8 mg per 100 ml) as compared with the healthy persons. Under the conditions of hypo-alpha-lipoproteinemia (alpha-CS was below 37 mg per 100 ml) the contents of apo A-I and apo A-II were decreased down to 116 and 50 mg per 100 ml, respectively, and that of apo E--increased up to 12 mg per 100 ml. Concentration of the total fraction of high density lipoproteins (LPHD), LPHD2 and their subfraction LPHD2a and LPHD2b was also distinctly increased in hyper-alpha-lipoproteinemia; it was decreased in hypo-alpha-lipoproteinemia, while the LPHD3 content was slightly altered in blood plasma. The capacity of LPHD to transfer of CS appears to increase in hyper-alpha-lipoproteinemia and to decrease in hypo-alpha-lipoproteinemia. As shown by correlation analysis, metabolism of LPHD3 occurred independently from the other LPHD subfractions.

[Apolipoprotein A1, A2 and E content in the blood plasma of persons with dysalphalipoproteinemia]. / Soderzhanie apolipoproteinov A1, A2 i E v plazme krovi liudei s disal'falipoproteidemiei.

The content of A1, A2, and E apolipoproteins in blood plasma of males (40-59 years of age) with normo-, hyper-, and hypoalphalipoproteinemia was determined by rocket immunoelectrophoresis. Considerable changes were revealed in the alphalipoprotein cholesterol/A1-apo ratio which were evidence of increased capacity of HDLP for transporting cholesterol in hyperalphalipoproteinemia and a decrease in this HDLP function in hypoalphalipoproteinemia irrespective of their concentration in blood plasma. A reverse correlative connection was revealed between the A1-apo content and the E-apo content in dysalphalipoproteinemia. It is suggested that the changes in the content of A1-apo and E-apo in blood plasma are significant in lipoprotein metabolism in dysalphalipoproteinemia.