The major objective of this project is to investigate the interrelationships between the alterations that occur in phospholipid and energy metabolism in liver tissue from animals that are developing fatty liver due to chronic ethanol administration. We propose to characterize more completely those ethanol elicited changes in mitochondrial energy metabolism and phospholipid metabolism. We will attempt to determine the ethanol-induced lesion(s) in mitochondria that result(s) in a decreased rate of ATP synthesis. We will also carry out experiments to determine if alterations in mitochondrial energy-linked properties are related to observed changes in the fatty acid composition of mitochondrial phospholipids. In addition we plan to determine the origin of the alteration(s) in cellular phospholipid metabolism which give(s) rise to changes in the fatty acid composition of mitochondrial phospholipids. The above studies will be carried out with rats fed an ethanol containing diet. Ongoing studies with the monkey, Macaca fascicularis, will also be completed in order to assess whether this non-human primate is a suitable animal model in which to study ethanol-induced liver pathology.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter