Transglutaminase activity in rat liver after acute ethanol administration

The acute effect of ethanol on hepatic transglutaminase (EC 2.3.2.13) activity and polyamine levels were investigated in the rat. A high dose of ethanol (5 g/kg body weight, given by gastric intubation) caused in homogenate and cytosolic fraction an inhibition of 50-70% from 3 to 24 h which thereafter was reversible. Such a decrease may be in part responsible for the observed enhancement in putrescine and spermidine contents observed at the same times. Pyrazole, an inhibitor of alcohol dehydrogenase, prevented the ethanol-induced reduction in transglutaminase activity. Disulfiram, an inhibitor of aldehyde dehydrogenase, allowed detection of an inhibitory effect on enzyme activity even at a low dose of ethanol (2 g/kg), which per se did not modify transglutaminase activity. The hepatic cytosolic fraction, incubated in the presence of various concentrations of acetaldehyde, showed a dose-dependent inhibition of transglutaminase activity. All of these results suggest that acetaldehyde, the first and toxic metabolite of ethanol, inhibits hepatic transglutaminase activity, probably by its binding to the active thiol site of the enzyme. The reduction in transglutaminase may lead to an alteration of cytoskeleton, since the enzyme is known to be involved in tubuline polymerization and microfilament assembly.