Humoral immune response to acetaldehyde adducts in alcoholic patients.

Sera of alcoholic patients were found to contain antibodies to acetaldehyde adducts as determined by immunodiffusion. Differences in antibody levels were determined by hemagglutination with acetaldehyde adduct-conjugated red blood cells. Anti-acetaldehyde adduct immunoglobulin titers in 21 healthy, non-drinking individuals ranged from 10-80, whereas 25 of 34 alcoholics had titers of 160 or above (P less than 0.001). Rabbit-polyclonal and mouse-monoclonal antibodies against acetaldehyde adducts did not agglutinate red blood cells of alcoholic patients, indicating that no detectable acetaldehyde-altered epitopes are present on erythrocyte membranes. These results suggest that acetaldehyde-induced immunogenic determinants can initiate a humoral immune response which may differentiate alcoholics from non-alcoholics.