Effects of long-term ethanol consumption on adhesion molecules in liver

Adhesion molecules play an important role in the pathogenesis of several diseases. In this study, expression of adhesion molecules was examined in the setting of chronic alcohol induced liver damage of male albino Wistar strain rats (16-18 weeks-old, 200-220 g) in a time dependent manner. Decreased protein level and increased activities of liver marker enzymes in response to the chronic ethanol (1.6 g ethanol/kg body weight/day) exposure, indicated that these animals suffered from liver damage in a time-dependent manner. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that chronic ethanol treatment induced intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 expression in liver tissues of rats with duration of ethanol exposure. The results suggest that the adhesion molecules may be associated with the initiation of hepatic injury during alcohol intoxication.