A cross-sectional study of the effects of alcohol on the protein profile of rat lingual epithelium.

Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis, and subsequent densitometric analysis of rat lingual epithelial proteins, showed that for expression of previously reported protein alterations in the lingual epithelium of alcoholic rats, chronic alcohol consumption is required. Alterations in the levels of a high molecular-weight glycoprotein and a 30 k dalton protein in the rat lingual epithelium became significant following 60 days of alcohol consumption. Alterations in the levels of a 28 k dalton protein required more time to become significant. The results provided no evidence of a precursor/product relationship between the high molecular-weight glycoprotein and the two lower molecular-weight proteins.