Ethanol and protein metabolism in the liver.

The influence of acute and chronic ethanol administration on liver protein synthesis, secretion and degradation has been studied by various research groups. Acute ethanol administration appeared to have few if any effects on protein synthesis in vivo, but reduced the synthetic rates of both stationary and exported proteins in suspensions of isolated rat liver cells. Chronic ethanol intake for more than 4 weeks inhibited protein synthesis in vivo, and in cell preparations from treated rats. This inhibitory effect was independent of animal sex, hepatic protein content and diet. The effects of acute and chronic ethanol intake on hepatic protein export are unclear with both inhibition or no effect being reported. The effect of ethanol on liver protein degradation has only been studied to a limited extent, and the results do not indicate clear and marked effects due to ethanol. The inhibitory effect of chronic ethanol intake on hepatic protein synthesis could be of importance in the development of liver injury.