Effect of Chronic Ethanol Administration and Dietary Protein Regimens on Intestinal Absorption of Macromolecules in Rats

Abstract

The effect of feeding ethanol daily for 40 days has been studied on intestinal absorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and γ-globulin (IgG) in rats fed a low (8%) protein (LP) or a high (30%) protein (HP) diet. Feeding the LP diet enhanced the tissue uptake of BSA (p < 0.05) and absorption of BSA and IgG into serum (p < 0.001) as compared with controls. Feeding the HP diet also augmented the uptake of IgG (p < 0.001) by the intestinal tissue and significantly enhanced serum levels of BSA and IgG. Ethanol feeding to rats for 40 days enhanced the uptake of BSA and IgG (24-84%) and their absorption into serum (p < 0.001) as compared with the controls. Ethanol administration to rats fed LP or HP diets did not alter the uptake of these proteins as compared with their resepctive controls. Luminal degradation of BSA and IgG was higher in ethanol-administered (48-50% and 36-39%, respectively) and LP-fed rats (50 and 38%, respectively). It was reduced by 17-21% in HP-fed rats as compared with the control group. This indicated that the observed increase in protein absorption is not related to the luminal degradation of the proteins under these conditions. These findings suggest that the absorption of macromolecules from intestine in response to ethanol feeding is influenced by the dietary status of the animals.

Prenatal Ethanol Administration: Effects on IgG Absorption during Postnatal Development in the Rat Intestine

“…Blood was collected directly from the heart. IgG appearing in the blood was detected by trichloroacetic acid precipitation or immunoprecipitation as described earlier [17]. The absorption of proteins into serum was expressed as micrograms protein per milliliter serum.…”

Differential Effects of T‐Cell Activation on Gastric and Small Bowel Permeability in Alcohol‐Consuming Mice

“…In chronic alcoholics with liver disease, both gastric permeability and small bowel permeability are increased (Keshavarzian et al, 1999). In rats, dietary alcohol increases absorption of bovine serum albumin as well as ␥-globulin (Kaur et al, 1993(Kaur et al, , 1995. Enhanced mucosal permeability may contribute to elevated systemic endotoxin levels in alcoholics (Diehl, 2000).…”

Differential Effects of T-Cell Activation on Gastric and Small Bowel Permeability in Alcohol-Consuming Mice

“…In chronic alcoholics with liver disease, both gastric permeability and small bowel permeability are increased (Keshavarzian et al, 1999). In rats, dietary alcohol increases absorption of bo-vine serum albumin as well as ␥-globulin (Kaur et al, 1993(Kaur et al, , 1995. Enhanced mucosal permeability may contribute to elevated systemic endotoxin levels in alcoholics (Diehl, 2000).…”