Effect of prenatal exposure to ethanol on hepatic elongation factor-2 and proteome in 21 d old rats: protective effect of folic acid.

In this article, we study the effects of ethanol intake during pregnancy and lactation on hepatic and pancreatic elongation factor-2 (EF-2) of 21 d old progeny. At the same time, the effect of ethanol on the level of other relevant hepatic proteins was determined using proteomic analysis. The results show that ethanol not only produces a general increase of protein oxidation, but also produces an important depletion of EF-2 and several other proteins. Among the hepatic proteins affected by ethanol, the concomitant supplementation with folic acid to alcoholic mother rats prevented EF-2, RhoGDI-1, ER-60 protease, and gelsolin depletion. This protective effect of folic acid may be related to its antioxidant properties and suggests that this vitamin may be useful in minimizing the effect of ethanol in the uterus and lactation exposure of the progeny.