Hepatotoxicity of ethanol in mice

Mice continuously exposed to ethanol vapour (for up to 19 days) developed fatty change in the liver (from 2 days onwards) and lesions resembling those of alcoholic hepatitis in man (from 5 days onwards). They also showed biochemical evidence of liver cell damage. Sera from ethanol-treated animals contained immunoglobulins that bound to the hepatocytes of ethanol-treated but not of control animals suggesting that exposure to ethanol was followed by an immunological response to a hepatocyte neo-antigen. In addition, such sera were cytotoxic in an in-vitro assay, and on Sephacryl S-300 gel filtration the cytotoxic activity eluted together with albumin molecules.