Changes in hepatic collagen metabolism in rats produced by chronic ethanol feeding.

The effect of ethanol feeding for a period of 6 months on parameters of hepatic collagen metabolism was studied in the rat. Ethanol feeding resulted in small increases in the fibrous and ground substance components of hepatic collagen as measured by increases in collagen-bound hydroxyproline and hexosamine, respectively. Liver histology revealagen proline hydroxylase and the incorporation of labeled proline into collagen by liver slices, both of which are associated with collagen synthesis, were not changed. Ethanol feeding resulted in increases in the concentration of protein and deoxyribonucleic acid in the Kupffer cells, but in no changes in collagenase activity. An increase in collagen degradation was suggested, however, by the increase in the urinary excretion of hydroxyproline and glycosaminoglycans found after 2 and 6 months of ethanol feeding, respectively. This study demonstrates that fatty infiltration of the liver in the rat, after prolonged ethanol feeding, is associated with increased deposition of chemically detectable collagen and evidence of increased collagen degradation, although no significant changes in parameters associated with hepatic collagen synthesis were found.