Effect of alcohol and/or cocaine on blood glutathione and the ultrastructure of the liver of pregnant CF-1 mice.

Alcohol and cocaine are abused by the general population as well as by pregnant women. Since alcohol and cocaine are hepatotoxic, pregnant mice were used to study the effect of alcohol and/or cocaine on alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and on liver ultrastructure. Also, blood glutathione (GSH) and GSH related enzymes such as glutathione reductase (GSH-Rx) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were studied. The mice were treated with 0.6 g/kg ethanol twice daily via gavage and/or 20 mg/kg of cocaine hydrochloride intravenously once daily. The treatment was from day 6 to 15 of gestation and these studies were performed at day 18. Our results indicated a significant increase in AST level after treatment with ethanol alone or in combination with cocaine. The blood GSH levels decreased significantly in all the treated groups compared to the control. The activity of GSH-Px was significantly decreased only in the ethanol and cocaine combination group compared to the control. Histopathological studies indicated that co-administration of ethanol and cocaine lead to a significant potentiation in liver toxicity as indicated by increased fatty infiltration.