Brain membrane disordering by administration of a single ethanol dose

There is a bulk of evidence that ethanol exerts an important direct effect on biological membranes, especially in the central nervous system, during chronic administration. Whether membranes are affected after an acute and subacute ethanol administration remains to be demonstrated. Crude synaptic membrane fluidity (checked by fluorescence polarization) together with (Na+ +K+)ATPase activity were therefore examined 18 hours after a single oral ethanol administration (5 g/kg bwt.) to naive rats or to rats previously intubated with ethanol repeatedly during 4 days (increasing the daily dose from 7 to 10 g/kg). The sensitivity of both parameters to different concentrations of ethanol added in vitro (0.175 M-1.400 M) was also determined. Although no changes in the basal intrinsic fluidity were found, (Na+ +K+)ATPase activity increased slightly after administration of ethanol to naive as well as to short-term ethanol intoxicated rats. The fluidizing as well as the ATPase inhibiting effects following the addition of ethanol in vitro were markedly increased 18 hours after ethanol administration to naive rats. Such an hypersensitization seems not to be related to an unspecific stress or to changes in body temperature and was no longer apparent in short-term ethanol intoxicated rats. Disappearance of the acute ethanol induced hypersensitization with further ethanol administration may represent the first stage of tolerance acquisition.