Physical properties, lipid composition and enzyme activities of hepatic subcellular membranes from chick embryo after ethanol treatment.

Exposure of chick embryos to ethanol resulted in significant alterations to the lipid composition of various different hepatic subcellular membranes. A marked decrease in cholesterol levels and an increase in the phospholipid content of microsomes and mitochondria was observed. Ethanol also affected the fatty acid profiles, mainly by decreasing the percentage of oleic acid in phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in the mitochondria and phosphatidylethanolamine in the microsomes. In spite of these changes ethanol only induced alterations in the fluidity of the mitochondrial membranes, which showed a more rigid core, in contrast to the phospholipid-head region, which was not affected. In accordance with the changes observed in the physical state of the membrane, the enzymes involved in the microsomal electron-transport systems were not modified by ethanol, while cytochrome oxidase activity decreased by 50% compared to the activity in the mitochondria from control chick embryos. These findings establish that during the chick-embryo developmental period the mitochondria are more sensitive to ethanol than are the microsomes.