Assessment of the role of non-ADH ethanol oxidation in vivo and in hepatocytes from deermice.

Deermice genetically lacking alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH-) were used to quantitate the effect of 4-methylpyrazole (4-MP) on non-ADH pathways in hepatocytes and in vivo. Although primarily an inhibitor of ADH, 4-methylpyrazole was also found to inhibit competitively the activity of the microsomal ethanol-oxidizing system (MEOS) in deermouse liver microsomes. The degree of 4-MP inhibition in ADH- deermice then served to correct for the effect of 4-MP on non-ADH pathways in deermice having ADH (ADH+). In ADH+ hepatocytes, the percent contributions of non-ADH pathways were calculated to be 28% at 10 mM and 52% at 50 mM ethanol. When a similar correction was applied to in vivo ethanol clearance rates in ADH+ deermice, non-ADH pathways were found to contribute 42% below 10 mM and 63% at 40-70 mM blood ethanol. The catalase inhibitor 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole, while reducing catalase-mediated peroxidation of ethanol by 83-94%, had only a slight effect on blood ethanol clearance at ethanol concentrations below 10 mM, and no effect at all at 40-70 mM ethanol. These results indicate that non-ADH pathways (primarily MEOS) play a significant role in ethanol oxidation in vivo and in hepatocytes in vitro.