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Experimental assessment of the role of acetaldehyde in alcoholic cardiomyopathy

Biological Procedures Online volume 5, pages 1–12 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Alcoholism is one of the major causes of non-ischemic heart damage. The myopathic state of the heart due to alcohol consumption, namely alcoholic cardiomyopathy, is manifested by cardiac hypertrophy, compromised ventricular contractility and cardiac output. Several mechanisms have been postulated for alcoholic cardiomyopathy including oxidative damage, accumulation of triglycerides, altered fatty acid extraction, decreased myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity, and impaired protein synthesis. Despite intensive efforts to unveil the mechanism and ultimate toxin responsible for alcohol-induced cardiac toxicity, neither has been clarified thus far. Primary candidates for the specific toxins are ethanol, its first and major metabolic product — acetaldehyde (ACA) and fatty acid ethyl esters. Evidence from our lab suggests that ACA directly impairs cardiac function and promotes lipid peroxidation resulting in oxidative damage. The ACA-induced cardiac contractile depression may be reconciled with inhibitors of Cytochrome P-450 oxidase, xanthine oxidase and lipid peroxidation Unfortunately, the common methods to investigate the toxicity of ACA have been hampered by the fact that direct intake of ACA is toxic and unsuitable for chronic study, which is unable to provide direct evidence of direct cardiac toxicity for ACA. In order to overcome this obstacle associated with the chemical properties of ACA, our laboratory has used the chronic ethanol feeding model in transgenic mice with cardiac over-expression of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and anin vitro ventricular myocyte culture model. The combination of bothin vivo andin vitro approaches allows us to evaluate the role of ACA in ethanol-induced cardiac toxicity and certain cellular signaling pathways leading to alcoholic cardiomyopathy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Therapeutics, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, 58203, Grand Forks, ND, USA

    Nicholas S. Aberle

  2. Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Wyoming College of Health Sciences, P. O. Box 3375, 82071-3375, Laramie, WY

    Jun Ren (Associate Professor)

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  1. Nicholas S. Aberle
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  2. Jun Ren
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Correspondence to Jun Ren.

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Published: February 17, 2003

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Aberle, N.S., Ren, J. Experimental assessment of the role of acetaldehyde in alcoholic cardiomyopathy. Biol. Proced. Online 5, 1–12 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1251/bpo41

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1251/bpo41

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Biological Procedures Online

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