ANTIBODIES FROM ALCOHOLICS, ETHANOL-FED RATS AND A RABBIT IMMUNIZED WITH PROTEINS MODIFIED BY ACETALDEHYDE IN-VITRO REACT WITH LIVER CYTOSOLIC PROTEINS FROM ETHANOL-FED RATS

In previous studies we have shown that ethanol-fed rats generate antib odies reactive with proteins modified by acetaldehyde in vitro and tha t their livers contain proteins modified by acetaldehyde. In this stud y we demonstrate that the antibodies from these animals react with the modified proteins found in their livers. Furthermore, when the antibo dies reactive with specific proteins were isolated, they were found to react with all of the modified by proteins detected by the whole seru m. This suggests that all of the proteins modified by acetaldehyde in vivo carry the same or similar epitope(s). In addition, antibodies fro m alcoholics and a rabbit immunised with proteins modified by acetalde hyde in vitro also reacted with the liver cytosolic proteins from etha nol-fed rats. Therefore it appears that similar epitopes are generated in alcoholics as a result of ethanol misuse, in rat liver due to prol onged ethanol feeding and by the in vitro modification procedure used to produce the immunogen for the rabbit.