In the liver mitochondrial fraction of the first generation offspring of alcoholized male rats, decreased activities of monoamine oxidase (MAO) types A and B, rotenone-insensitive NADH-cytochrome c-reductase and succinate dehydrogenase were observed. The MAO-dependent inhibition of rotenone-insensitive NADH-cytochrome c-reductase and succinate dehydrogenase by biogenic amines, incubated with the mitochondrial fraction, was altered in the offspring of alcoholized animals as compared with control rats. The sensitivity of these enzymatic activities towards the inhibitory effect of 5-methoxyindol-3-ylacetaldehyde was markedly increased in the offspring of alcoholized male rats. The data obtained suggest the existence of a genetically determined predisposition of the mitochondrial metabolic processes in the offspring of the alcoholized rats to the effects of ethanol and to the toxic effects of acetaldehyde, formed during ethanol metabolism.

No abstract

No abstract

The effect of a single administration of the endogenous peptide substance P on the content of dopamine (DA), and norepinephrine (NE), and on the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine [~-hydroxylase (D-13-H) is studied in the hypothalamus and midbrain of rats after a 6-month alcoholization. Key Words: substance P; dopamine ~-hydroxylase; tyrosine hydrox-ylase; catecholamines; alcoholSpecific disturbances of the catecholamine system play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of alcohol addiction [1][2][3][4]7]. An altered content of biogenic amines, in particular, catecholamines (CA), in various structures of the brain, primarily in the hypothalamus and midbrain of alcoholized animals, together with a high concentration of the wellknown endogenous peptide substance P (SP) in these structures, prompted us to study the effect of SP on CA and the enzymes of their synthesis in the brain of chronically alcoholized rats. MATERIALS AND METHODSUnbred male white rats weighing 400 g were used in the experiments. All animals were alcoholized during 6 months by substituting 15% ethanol for water in their ration. The rats were then tested for alcohol intake during 10 days under conditions of free choice of alcohol and water (two-dish test).