[Effect of pyruvate, threonine, and phosphoethanolamine on acetaldehyde metabolism in rats with toxic liver injury].

Pyruvate dehydrogenase, threonine aldolase and phosphoethanolamine lyase can produce acetaldehyde during normal metabolism. We studied the effect of loading with the substrates of these enzymes (pyruvate, 500 mg/kg, i.p., threonine 500 mg/kg, i.p., and phosphoethanolamine, 230 mg/kg, i.p.) on the blood concentrations of endogenous acetaldehyde and ethanol and the activities of enzymes producing and oxidizing acetaldehyde in the liver of normal rats and rats with liver injury provoked by chronic carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) treatment (0.2 ml i.p. per rat, 2 times a week during 4 weeks). Blood was collected before the treatment and then 30 min and 1 h following the administration of the substrates to intact and CCl4-treated rats. Endogenous acetaldehyde and ethanol were determined by headspace GC. The CCl4 treatment resulted in decreased liver alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase activities and a significant elevation of liver endogenous ehtanol and a clear tendency to enhance blood acetaldehyde levels. Pyruvate increased blood endogenous acetaldehyde in CCl4-treated animals and endogenous ethanol--in the control group of animals. Threonine elevated endogenous acetaldehyde in normal rats. Phosphoethanolamine increased endogenous ethanol in the intact and CCl4 groups. At the same time, in CCl4-treated rats pyruvate administration increased the liver pyruvate dehydrogenase, threonine decreased threonine aldolase, whereas phosphoethanolamine decreased phosphoethanolamine lyase. Thus, the CCl4 effect on blood endogenous acetaldehyde and ethanol may be mediated through decreased liver ALDH and ADH activities. Liver injury promotes the accumulation of acetaldehyde, derived from physiological sources, including the degration of pyruvate and threonine by decreased acetaldehyde oxidation.