title: Reevaluation of the effects of alcohol consumption on rat liver microtubules: effects of feeding status.
abstract: The ability of total, free and microtubule-derived tubulins to bind colchicine was studied (using 4 different methods) in the liver of 12 male rat littermates pair-fed liquid diets containing 36% of energy either as ethanol or as additional carbohydrate and kept in the fed state up to the time of sacrifice. In the alcohol fed rats, we found a reproducible decrease in microtubule-derived tubulin and in the percentage of total tubulin present in the polymerized form. This was due to an alteration of the microtubular protein rather than to inhibitory factors of the liver supernatants. An equal group of pair-fed rats was tested after a 24-hour fast. Fasting decreased microtubule-derived tubulin and abolished the inhibitory effect of ethanol, probably by decreasing the rate of ethanol oxidation.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D003078:Colchicine / Q000378:metabolism; D004032:Diet; D000431:Ethanol / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005215:Fasting; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008297:Male; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D051381:Rats; D014404:Tubulin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014404:Tubulin; D000431:Ethanol; D003078:Colchicine