title: Acute ethanol administration modulates leukocyte actin polymerization in endotoxic rats.
abstract: The effects of acute ethanol intoxication with or without endotoxemia were studied on chemoattractant-initiated actin polymerization in circulating and liver-recruited neutrophils [polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs)] and Kupffer cells of age-matched male and female rats. In female rats, F-actin content in response to f-Met-Leu-Phe in circulating PMNs was significantly upregulated by ethanol+endotoxin (ET) treatment relative to saline+ET-treated animals. Male rats did not show this upregulated response. In liver-recruited PMNs, the F-actin response did not change significantly due to ethanol + ET treatment in cells of either gender. The actin polymerization response in Kupffer cells was smaller than in liver sequestered PMNs and also exhibited a gender difference. In Kupffer cells of female rats, only ethanol+ET treatment elicited an F-actin response to f-Met-Leu-Phe, whereas in cells of male rats similar increases in F-actin content were observed in both saline+ET and ethanol+ET groups. We conclude that ethanol-enhanced actin polymerization in rats is associated with gender differences. This may be one of the underlying mechanisms resulting in upregulated leukocyte activation in acutely ethanol-intoxicated endotoxic animals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans 70119, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Spitzer
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000097:blood*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D002634:Chemotaxis, Leukocyte / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000097:blood*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D007728:Kupffer Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D008108:Liver Diseases, Alcoholic / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D009240:N-Formylmethionine Leucyl-Phenylalanine / Q000494:pharmacology; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D011108:Polymers; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D004731:Endotoxins; D011108:Polymers; D009240:N-Formylmethionine Leucyl-Phenylalanine