title: Use of the Lieber-DeCarli liquid feeding regime with specific reference to the effects of ethanol on rat skeletal muscle RNA.
abstract: This communication discusses the ways in which parameters of tissue injury in chronic ethanol-fed rats can be presented. These are: concentration (amount per unit wet weight), absolute amount (total quantity per organ or tissue) or relative to body weight (total quantity per unit body weight). Specific reference is made to the amount of RNA in skeletal muscles from rats fed the Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet containing ethanol for 6 weeks. Comparisons were made with data from rats which were pair-fed the same diet in which ethanol was substituted by iso-caloric glucose. Chronic ethanol-feeding had no statistically significant effect on the concentration of skeletal muscle RNA, though the absolute amount was reduced by 20%. When expressed relative to body weight the magnitude of this decline was reduced, to only 10%. Due to the nature of the liquid feeding regime the animals showed variable alterations in body weight. The amount of liquid diet consumed by control and ethanol-fed rats over a 24 hr period can comprise as much as 40% (w/w) of body weight. It is therefore suggested that data expressed relative to body mass may, on occasions, be erroneous. Episodic engorgement with food may also have an influence on other metabolic processes such as the kinetics of protein, fat or carbohydrate metabolism. These issues may have important implications for other studies using the Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet to examine the effects of ethanol on muscle or non-muscle tissues.
authors: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, King's College Hospital School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, U.K.
authors: V R
authors: VR
authors: Preedy
authors: J S
authors: JS
authors: Marway
authors: T J
authors: TJ
authors: Peters
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D001834:Body Water / Q000032:analysis; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005526:Food, Formulated / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D009132:Muscles / Q000032:analysis; D012313:RNA / Q000032:analysis; D051381:Rats; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D012313:RNA