Comparison of the acute effects of ethanol on liver and skeletal muscle protein synthesis in the rat.

(1) The acute effects of ethanol on protein synthesis by liver and skeletal muscle were investigated in young (95-100 g) rats. Rats were injected intraperitoneally with ethanol, 75 mmol/kg body wt; controls were injected with isovolumetric 0.15 M NaCl. After 140 min rates of protein synthesis were measured by injection of a large dose of L[4(3)H]phenylalanine and at 150 min rats were killed. (2) Fractional rates of protein synthesis in control animals were approximately four to five times greater in liver than muscle. Absolute rates were, however, comparable in liver and skeletal muscle. Ethanol reduced the fractional rate of liver protein synthesis by 5-20%; the response for muscle was relatively greater (25-30%). The decrease in the amount of protein synthesized by muscle was also greater than that by liver. (3) After 150 min, plasma gamma-glutamyl transferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase activities were all decreased by 25-60%. Aspartate aminotransferase activity was increased by 42%, though this was not statistically significant. (4) Increased plasma glucose and triglycerides in ethanol-dosed rats indicated that limitations in substrate supply were not mediating factors in reducing protein synthesis. Ethanol was also able to exert its effects in the presence of elevated insulin levels. A direct effect of ethanol, or its metabolites, on protein synthesis, is therefore implied.