title: Effects of alcohol on the levels of parvalbumin in rat hearts.
abstract: Chronic excessive alcohol administration has been reported to be associated with diastolic dysfunction. Parvalbumin (PV) is a calcium-binding protein present in cardiac myocytes and involved in mediating relaxation. Therefore, alteration of PV levels may affect relaxation in cardiac myocytes. This study investigated the effects of alcohol administration on the levels of PV in the rat heart. Male Wistar rats weighing 200-250 g were divided into 2 groups: control (C) and alcohol-treated groups. The control group was provided with distilled water and the alcohol groups were provided with either a low dose (LD, 2g/kg) or high dose of ethanol (HD, 5 g/kg) once daily for 21 days, 3 months or 6 months. The PV levels in the ventricles were investigated by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. In the 21-day ethanol-treated groups, parvalbumin immunoreactivity (PV-ir) and protein levels were not different when compared to the C, LD and HD groups. In the 3-month ethanol-treated groups, PV-ir and PV protein levels were decreased in both the LD and HD groups compared to that of the control group. In the 6-month ethanol-treated groups, PV-ir and PV protein levels decreased significantly in both the LD and HD groups (P<0.05). This indicates that short-term ethanol treatment may not affect PV levels, whereas, long-term ethanol treatment clearly reduced PV levels. The decrease of PV was predominantly due to the direct toxic effects of alcohol rather than malabsorption caused by pathological changes in the duodenum and liver. The toxic effects of alcohol leading to a reduction of PV levels may lead to diastolic impairment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat-Yai, Songkhla 90112, Thailand. Uraporn.v@psu.ac.th
authors.forename: Uraporn
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Vongvatcharanon
authors.forename: Wilairat
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kankoun
authors.forename: Wandee
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Udomuksorn
authors.forename: Ekkasit
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kumarnsit
authors.forename: Surapong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vongvatcharanon
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects; D000818:Animals; D003971:Diastole / Q000187:drug effects; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D054144:Heart Failure, Diastolic / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000378:metabolism*; D010320:Parvalbumins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D010320:Parvalbumins; D000431:Ethanol