title: Effect of short-term ethanol feeding on rat testes as assessed by 31P NMR spectroscopy, 1H NMR imaging, and biochemical methods.
abstract: 31P Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and 1H NMR imaging were used to examine the effect of short-term ethanol feeding on the rat testis. Weanling rats were pair-fed for 10 weeks either on ethanol containing liquid diet (36% ethanol of total calories) or a diet in which dextrimaltose was isocalorically substituted for the ethanol of the alcohol-containing diet. In vivo 31P NMR of the testes was used to determine the intratesticular pH and the relative concentrations of various phosphorus-containing metabolites. The integrity of the blood-testes barrier was evaluated using 1H NMR imaging following a gadolinium diethylene tetramine pentaacetic acid derivative (Gd-DTPA) administration as a vascular contrast agent. After the completion of NMR studies, the testis and the liver were freeze-clamped to allow for the assay of their adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) contents. Serum was assayed for its content of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alcohol and testosterone. Ethanol feeding resulted in the following: (a) a reduction in the body weight (p less than 0.05), (b) a reduction in the testicular phosphodiesters (PDE) PDE/ATP ratio (p less than 0.05), (c) an increased change in the testis image intensity difference between pre- and post-iv Gd-DTPA images, (c) a reduction in the testicular and hepatic content of ATP, and (d) increased serum levels of AST and ALT.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, PA 15213.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Farghali
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gavaler
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Van Thiel
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000818:Animals; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D001814:Blood-Testis Barrier / Q000187:drug effects*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000633:toxicity*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D013737:Testis / Q000187:drug effects*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D013739:Testosterone; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase