Chronic ethanol, oxygen tension and hepatocyte energy metabolism
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 30, 2026

Visualization and Analysis of Blood Flow and Oxygen Consumption in Hepatic Microcirculation: Application to an Acute Hepatitis Model
Published on: August 4, 2012
1Department of Biochemistry, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157-1016, USA. cunn@wfubmc.edu
Abstract:
Hepatocytes from ethanol-fed animals, isolated from either whole liver or the periportal or perivenous regions of the lobule, exhibited an ethanol-related decrease in energy state only when they were oxygen deficient. This was accompanied by an ethanol-related decrease in hepatocyte viability. Both periportal and perivenous hepatocytes from ethanol-fed rats demonstrated increased respiration. The observations reported here are consistent with an ethanol-induced increase in oxygen utilization which could render the perivenous region of the lobule relatively oxygen deficient in the intact liver. This oxygen deficit may cause the decreases in energy state and cell viability associated with chronic ethanol consumption. Ethanol-associated loss in hepatocyte viability appeared to correlate better with a decrease in energy state than with an increase in the products of oxidative stress. An investigation of the association between viability and cellular malondialdehyde levels revealed no effects of chronic ethanol consumption on MDA levels in hepatocytes that demonstrated ethanol-related decreases in cell viability.
More Related Videos
05:12Chronic Intermittent Ethanol Vapor Exposure Paired with Two-Bottle Choice to Model Alcohol Use Disorder
Published on: June 23, 2023
08:37Assessment of Glutamine as a Fuel Source for Alveolar Macrophages Exposed to Chronic Ethanol Using an Extracellular Flux Bioanalyzer
Published on: November 15, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Fates of Pyruvate
In aerobic organisms, pyruvate is metabolized via the citric acid cycle to produce reduced coenzymes NADH and FADH2. These coenzymes are then oxidized in the electron transport chain to produce ATP and, in the process, regenerate the NAD+ and FAD. As seen in some cell types and organisms, fermentation...
Hepatic Encephalopathy