Effects of ethanol on phospholipid acylation in rat erythrocytes: a model for a biochemical approach to membrane adaptation.

Challenging intact erythrocytes from naive rats with ethanol resulted in dose-dependent decreases in rates of acylation of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. In erythrocytes from ethanol-treated animals, the responses were of lesser magnitude, indicating a lower sensitivity to ethanol. This relative resistance, typical of the state of tolerance, was not associated with increased baseline rates of acylation of PC and PE, nor with changes in fatty acid specificity of acylation reactions. Taken together, the data suggest that (1) intact rat erythrocytes represent a reliable and easily reproducible model for studying biochemical correlates of the adaptive response to ethanol; (2) phospholipid acylation reactions are implicated in the initial sensitivity and subsequent acquisition of tolerance to ethanol in membrane erythrocytes; (3) on the basis of the measured acylation reactions, rat erythrocytes appear to develop tolerance, but not dependence, to ethanol.