Effects of Chronic Ethanol Treatment on Rat Liver Mitochondrial Protein Synthesis

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Chronic ethanol treatment of male Sprague‐Dawley rats resulted in a 50% decrease in the rate of incorporation of precursor leucine into isolated mitochondria. This decrease is manifest in a decreased labeling of three polypeptides of inner mitochondrial membranes that are the major products of in vitro mitochondrial protein synthesis under the conditions employed. Immunoprecipitation of cytochrome‐c oxidase revealed that these three polypeptides are subunits 1, 2, and 3 of cytochrome‐c oxidase and have apparent molecular weights of 33,000, 25,000, and 20,000. Sixty percent of the total incorporated radioactivity is associated with these polypeptides. A decrease in the contents of subunit 2 and of a second polypeptide with an apparent molecular weight of 22,000 was also noted as an effect of chronic ethanol treatment.