Effects of lower alcohols on potassium transport and microsomal adenosine-triphosphatase activity of rat cerebral cortex.
1. Slices of rat cerebral cortex, incubated anaerobically at 37 degrees , lost K(+) from an initial concentration of 102m-equiv./kg. to a concentration of 57m-equiv./kg. after 10min. On subsequent aerobic incubation they regained K(+) rapidly at a rate that varied with the K(+) concentration of the medium. 2. Lower aliphatic alcohols, present at equal thermodynamic activity, produced approximately equal degrees of inhibition of K(+) uptake during the aerobic incubation. This inhibition was reduced by an increase in K(+) content of the medium. Ethanol did not affect the rate of K(+) loss during anaerobic incubation. 3. Li(+), in concentrations of 1-10mm, also inhibited K(+) uptake by brain-cortex slices, the degree of inhibition varying with the Li(+) concentration. Ouabain also inhibited K(+) uptake. 4. The same series of alcohols, at equal thermodynamic activity, produced comparable degrees of inhibition of Na(+),K(+),Mg(2+)-stimulated adenosine-triphosphatase activity in brain microsomes. 5. It is suggested that inhibition of cation transport is an important, but not a primary, mechanism in the production of central nervous depression by alcohols and other substances.
D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000438:Alcohols / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000201:enzymology*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D008094:Lithium / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D008861:Microsomes / Q000378:metabolism*; D010042:Ouabain / Q000494:pharmacology; D010783:Photometry; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D012964:Sodium / Q000494:pharmacology
D000438:Alcohols; D000431:Ethanol; D010042:Ouabain; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D008094:Lithium; D012964:Sodium; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; D011188:Potassium