COMPLETE SUPPRESSION OF ETHANOL-INDUCED FORMATION OF MEGAMITOCHONDRIABY 4-HYDROXY-2,2,6,6-TETRAMETHYLPIPERIDINE-1-OXYL (4-OH-TEMPO)

An attempt has been made to suppress the ethanol-induced formation of megamitochondria (MG) in the rat liver by 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethy l-piperidine-1-oxyl (4-OH-TEMPO), a free radical scavenger, and by all opurinol (AP), a xanthine oxidase inhibitor. Changes observed in the l iver of animals given ethanol (EtOH) for 1 month were remarkable decre ases both in the body weight gains during the course of the experiment and in the Liver weight at the time of sacrifice compared to those of the control; remarkable increases in the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and lipid soluble fluorophores both in microsomes and mitochondria; decreases in the content of cytochrome a+a(3) and b and lowered phosphorylating ability of mitochondria; and formation of MG in the liver. A combined treatment of animals with EtOH plus 4-OH- TEMPO completely suppressed the formation of MG in the liver induced b y EtOH and distinctly improved the changes caused by EtOH, as specifie d above, while AP partly suppressed the MG formation. Results describe d herein provide additional insight into chronic hepatotoxicity of EtO H besides that previously reported. A novelty of the present work is t hat we were able for the first time to demonstrate reversibility of Et OH-mediated ultrastructural changes of the liver by a simple administr ation of aminoxyl-type free radical scavenger, 4-OH-TEMPO. Our results suggest that free radicals may be involved in the mechanism of the fo rmation of MG induced by EtOH. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.