Chronic ethanol reduces immunologically detectable Gq alpha/11 alpha in NG108-15 cells

Recent work has shown that chronic ethanol treatment inhibits receptor-stimulated phosphoinositide hydrolysis in NG108-15 cells and that ethanol exerts this effect primarily at the level of the guanine-nucleotide binding protein (G protein). Here we investigated the effects of ethanol exposure on the expression of Gq alpha/11 alpha, two highly homologous G protein alpha-subunits that have been implicated as regulators of phosphoinositidase C. Addition of ethanol (10-200 mM) to the culture medium for 48 h caused a concentration-dependent decrease in the immunologically detectable levels of Gq alpha/11 alpha. A small (approximately 15%) reduction in Gq alpha/11 alpha was observed after only 6 h of exposure to 200 mM ethanol, but membrane levels were reduced by 31% at 48 h. The ethanol-induced loss of Gq alpha/11 alpha was apparently independent of factors present in the foetal calf serum component of the culture medium. These results suggests that the decrease in receptor-mediated phosphoinositide hydrolysis following chronic ethanol treatment of NG108-15 cells may be mediated in part by a reduction in the membrane levels of Gq alpha/11 alpha.