title: Increased rectal cell proliferation following alcohol abuse.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Epidemiological data indicate an increased risk for rectal cancer following chronic alcohol consumption. As chronic ethanol ingestion leads to rectal hyperregeneration in experimental animals, indicating a state of increased susceptibility to carcinogens, we studied cell proliferation in alcohol abusers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rectal biopsies were taken from 44 heavy drinkers and 26 controls. Cell proliferation, including proliferative compartment size, was measured by immunohistological staining for proliferative cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki67, and by in situ hybridisation for histone H3. Quantification of cell proliferation using PCNA staining was evaluated in 27 alcohol abusers and 12 controls. In addition, immunohistology was performed for cytokeratins and gene products of Rb1, bcl-2, and p53.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Heavy drinking resulted in increased cell proliferation of the rectal mucosa, as shown by increased detection of different proliferation markers. However, cell differentiation regarding cytokeratin expression patterns was unchanged as well as regulatory factors involved in carcinogenesis and/or apoptosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chronic alcohol abuse leads to rectal mucosal hyperproliferation in humans, a condition associated with an increased cancer risk.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Alcohol Research, Liver Disease and Nutrition, and Department of Medicine, Salem Medical Centre, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: U A
authors.initials: UA
authors.lastname: Simanowski
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Homann
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Knühl
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Arce
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Waldherr
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Conradt
authors.forename: F X
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Bosch
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Seitz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D001706:Biopsy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002455:Cell Division; D005260:Female; D019254:Genes, bcl-2 / Q000502:physiology; D016158:Genes, p53 / Q000502:physiology; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D007633:Keratins / Q000378:metabolism; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D012007:Rectum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D016160:Retinoblastoma Protein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006657:Histones; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen; D016160:Retinoblastoma Protein; D007633:Keratins