Observations on the biochemical basis of ethanol metabolism by human macrophages.

The metabolism of ethanol (0.1 and 1.0 mg/ml) to acetate by blood-monocyte-derived macrophages was only slightly inhibited by pyrazole, 4-iodopyrazole and 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole indicating that it was largely independent of alcohol dehydrogenase and catalase. By contrast, 50-87% of the oxidation of ethanol by these cells was inhibited by carbon monoxide, metyrapone and SKF-525A, all three of which are known to inhibit various species of microsomal cytochrome P-450. The data suggest that most of the ethanol metabolism by blood-monocyte-derived macrophages is mediated via the cytochrome-P-450-dependent microsomal ethanol-oxidising system.