Comparative Effects of Ethanol and Malnutrition on the Development of Catecholamine Neurons: Changes in Specific Activities of Enzymes

Abstract

A rat model was developed in which the comparative effects of malnutrition and ethanol on the neurochemical maturation of catecholamine neurons in brain were studied. The animals were offspring of rats optimally nourished (control pups), fed a diet with 35% of the calories supplied by ethanol (EtOH pups), or a diet calorically equivalent to the latter but lacking ethanol (isocaloric = IC pups). These latter two groups were calorically deprived since rats fed the diet containing ethanol ate 40-60% less than the optimally nourished group. The diets were administered to dams either during the last week of gestation (prenatal) or during lactation (postnatal). The protein content per gram wet weight was not significantly different between brains of control and experimental pups. Developmental changes in EtOH pups were Abbreviarions used: COMT, Catecholarnine-O-rnethyltransferase; DBH, Dopamine P-hydroxylase: DOPADC, Dihydroxyphenylalanine decarboxylase; EtOH pups, Offspring of dams fed a diet containing ethanol; IC pups, Offspring of dams fed a diet isocaloric to the diet containing ethanol; MAO, Monoarnine oxidase; TOH, Tyrosine hydroxylase.

Comparative Effects of Ethanol and Malnutrition on the Development of Catecholamine Neurons: Changes in Neurotransmitter Levels

“…, 1979b) a n d m a t u r a t i o n o f catecholamine enzymes in the central nervous system (Detering et al, 1980) in developing rat have been described previously. The specific activity of tyrosine hydroxylase (EC 1.14.16.2) was higher and that of dopamine P-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.17.1) lower in the brains of pups exposed to ethanol as compared with control animals (Detering et al, 1980). The concentrations of the neurotransmitters synthesized by these allosteric enzymes are regu-lated by physiologic events related to neural transmission (Coyle, 1977).…”

“…The effects of ethanol on physical growth (Det e r i n g e t a l . , 1979b) a n d m a t u r a t i o n o f catecholamine enzymes in the central nervous system (Detering et al, 1980) in developing rat have been described previously. The specific activity of tyrosine hydroxylase (EC 1.14.16.2) was higher and that of dopamine P-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.17.1) lower in the brains of pups exposed to ethanol as compared with control animals (Detering et al, 1980).…”

Comparative Effects of Ethanol and Malnutrition on the Development of Catecholamine Neurons: Changes in Norepinephrine Turnover

“…The generation of the experimental groups has been described (Detering et al, 1979;198Oa). The pups used in these experiments were the offspring of dams fed a semiliquid diet containing 35% of the calories in the form of ethanol (EtOH pups) or a semiliquid diet isocaloric to that diet but lacking ethanol (IC, control pups) during the last trimester of gestation (prenatal) o r during lactation (postnatal).…”

Effect of Ethanol on Rat Brain Polyphosphoinositides

“…Ethanol consumption by pregnant dams has been shown to affect the physical development and maturation of the CNS in the offspring (Rawat, 1977;Druse and Hofteig, 1977;Detering et al, 1979Detering et al, , 1980. Since our recent studies have shown that maturation of polyphosphoinositides (as defined by their precisely localized deposition) and maturation of brain cells are interrelated and are affected in a characteristic manner by undernutrition (Uma and Ramakrishnan, 1983a), the question arose whether ethanol intake, which affects the maturation of CNS cells, concomitantly affects the maturation of polyphosphoinositides.…”