Alcohol, amino acids, and albumin synthesis. II. Alcohol inhibition of albumin synthesis reversed by arginine and spermine.

The effects of alcohol and spermine on albumin synthesis and polysome aggregation were studied in the isolated perfused rabbit liver system. Fed or fasted males served as donors and the perfusate contained, singly or in combination, alcohol, 200 mg per 100 ml, spermine, 1 mM, and arginine, 10 mM. The results indicate that in the presence of alcohol, using a liver from a fed donor, albumin synthesis is depressed from 16 to 6 mg per 100 g of wet liver weight per hr and the bound polysome is disaggregated. Spermine partially reaggregates the bound polysome and a combination of spermine and arginine augments albumin synthesis to the control rate. When the donor is fasted, and alcohol is present in the perfusate, the addition of spermine results in aggregated bound and free polysome patterns, whereas the combination of arginine and spermine is necessary to restimulate albumin synthesis. The results indicate that spermine plays an important role in the integrity of the polysome system and that arginine and spermine appears synergistic in maintaining albumin synthesis.