Effects of ethanol ingestion on amino acid uptake in the dog liver in vivo.

The effect of ethanol ingestion on the uptake of labeled amino acids was studied in the in situ autoperfused dog liver. Ethanol was administered orally, as a 15% water solution, in a dose of 4 g/kg body weight/day as the only source of water for 2 days. Amino acid uptake was measured in anesthetized dogs by means of the single-passage, multiple-tracer dilution technique. In control animals, hepatic uptake of 14C-glycine, 3H-alpha-aminoisobutyric acid (3H-AIB) and 3H-L-leucine were 50, 15 and 66%, respectively. In the ethanol-treated dogs, glycine and AIB uptake was reduced by 70 and 63%, respectively. L-leucine uptake was reduced by only 23%. The plasma concentration of the naturally occurring amino acids was significantly increased after ethanol treatment, probably due to a reduced influx into hepatocytes. Simultaneous measurements of hemodynamic parameters showed a significant increase in the portal vein pressure of ethanol-treated animals, whereas the portal vein blood flow and hepatic extracellular volume were unaffected.