Ethanol potentiates serotonin stimulated inositol lipid metabolism in primary astroglial cell cultures.

Serotonin-stimulated activation of phospholipase C in primary astroglial cell cultures was studied as a mean of evaluating the effect of acute ethanol exposition on this signal transduction system. The addition of 50-150 mM ethanol prior to stimulation with 10(-5) M serotonin led to a potentiation of the serotonin-induced [3H]-inositol phosphate formation and an increased incorporation of [3H]-inositol into the three phosphoinositides studied. This potentiating effect of ethanol was observed only when ethanol was added together with serotonin. No stimulatory effect of ethanol per se was found. Furthermore, ethanol had no effect on arginine-vasopressin, bradykinin or phenylephrine stimulated inositol lipid metabolism.