Relative and combined effects of ethanol and protein deficiency on zinc, iron, copper, and manganese contents in different organs and urinary and fecal excretion

Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Sodium, Phosphorus, Selenium, Zinc, and Chromium Levels in Alcohol Use Disorder: A Review

Macronutrients and trace elements are important components of living tissues that have different metabolic properties and functions. Trace elements participate in the regulation of immunity through humoral and cellular mechanisms, nerve conduction, muscle spasms, membrane potential regulation as well as mitochondrial activity and enzymatic reactions. Excessive alcohol consumption disrupts the concentrations of crucial trace elements, also increasing the risk of enhanced oxidative stress and alcohol-related liver diseases. In this review, we present the status of selected macroelements and trace elements in the serum and plasma of people chronically consuming alcohol. Such knowledge helps to understand the mechanisms of chronic alcohol-use disorder and to progress and prevent withdrawal effects, also improving treatment strategies.

Relative and combined effects of ethanol and protein deficiency on bone manganese and copper

Both manganese and copper may affect bone synthesis. Bone content of both metals can be altered in alcoholics, although controversy exists regarding this matter. To analyse the relative and combined effects of ethanol and a low protein diet on bone copper and manganese, and their relationships with bone structure and metabolism, including trabecular bone mass (TBM), osteoid area (OA), osteocalcin (OCN), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), parathyroid hormone (PTH), urinary hydroxyproline (uHP) and vitamin D. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups. The control rats received a 18% protein-containing diet; a second group, an isocaloric, 2% protein-containing diet; a third one, an isocaloric, 36% ethanol-containing diet and a fourth, an isocaloric diet containing 2% protein and 36% ethanol. After sacrifice, TBM and OA were histomorphometrically assessed; bone and serum manganese and copper were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and serum OCN, IGF-1, PTH, uHP and vitamin D by radioimmunoassay. Ethanol-fed rats showed decreased TBM and bone manganese. Significant relationships existed between bone manganese and TBM, serum IGF-1 and OCN. Ethanol leads to a decrease in bone manganese, related to decreased bone mass and bone synthesis. No alterations were found in bone copper.

Effects of lead and/or cadmium on the distribution patterns of some essential trace elements in immature female rats

Lead acetate (300 mg/L) and/or cadmium chloride (50 mg/L) were administered as drinking water to Sprague-Dawley rats for 9 weeks to investigate the effects of concurrent exposure to lead and cadmium on the distribution patterns of five essential trace elements. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to determine the concentrations of zinc, copper, manganese, selenium and iron in the urine at different exposure times, as well as their levels in the renal cortex and serum at the end of treatment. Compared with the control group, exposure to lead and/or cadmium resulted in a significant increase in the urinary excretion of these five elements during the experiment, whereas significant decreased levels of these elements were found in kidney and serum. In conclusion, increased urinary loss of antioxidant trace elements due to lead and/or cadmium exposure induced the deficiency of antioxidants in the body, which could result in further oxidative damage. Moreover, there was an obvious synergistic effect of lead combined with cadmium on the distribution patterns of these essential trace elements, which may be related to the severity of co-exposure to these two metals.

Tissue mineral distributions are differentially modified by dietary protein deficiency and a murine nematode infection

This study was designed to investigate whether mineral concentrations in the spleen, serum, and liver were modified by challenge infection with a gastrointestinal nematode, by infection dose, or by protein deficiency despite adequate dietary intakes of minerals. BALB/c mice fed protein-sufficient (PS, 24%) or protein-deficient (PD, 3%) diets were infected with 100 L3 of Heligmosomoides bakeri, drug-treated, and then re-infected with either 0, 100, or 200 L3. Protein deficiency and infection, but not dose, independently modified tissue mineral distributions. H. bakeri infection lowered serum iron concentrations in both diet groups. Despite this, PD mice had elevated iron and calcium concentrations and Ca/Zn ratio in the spleen as well as Fe/Zn ratio in liver, but they had reduced calcium, zinc, copper, and sulfur concentrations, and Cu/Zn ratio in the liver. Infection reduced calcium and iron concentrations and the Ca/Zn ratio in the spleen. We suggest that tissue mineral distribution is a consequence of Th2 immune and inflammatory responses induced by infection in PS mice and the switch to predominant Th1 inflammation in PD, nematode-infected mice.

Molecular and cellular events in alcohol-induced muscle disease

Alcohol consumption induces a dose-dependent noxious effect on skeletal muscle, leading to progressive functional and structural damage of myocytes, with concomitant reductions in lean body mass. Nearly half of high-dose chronic alcohol consumers develop alcoholic skeletal myopathy. The pathogenic mechanisms that lie between alcohol intake and loss of muscle tissue involve multiple pathways, making the elucidation of the disease somewhat difficult. This review discusses the recent advances in basic and clinical research on the molecular and cellular events involved in the development of alcohol-induced muscle disease. The main areas of recent research interest on this field are as follows: (i) molecular mechanisms in alcohol exposed muscle in the rat model; (ii) gene expression changes in alcohol exposed muscle; (iii) the role of trace elements and oxidative stress in alcoholic myopathy; and (iv) the role of apoptosis and preapoptotic pathways in alcoholic myopathy. These aforementioned areas are crucial in understanding the pathogenesis of this disease. For example, there is overwhelming evidence that both chronic alcohol ingestion and acute alcohol intoxication impair the rate of protein synthesis of myofibrillar proteins, in particular, under both postabsorptive and postprandial conditions. Perturbations in gene expression are contributory factors to the development of alcoholic myopathy, as ethanol-induced alterations are detected in over 400 genes and the protein profile (i.e., the proteome) of muscle is also affected. There is supportive evidence that oxidative damage is involved in the pathogenesis of alcoholic myopathy. Increased lipid peroxidation is related to muscle fibre atrophy, and reduced serum levels of some antioxidants may be related to loss of muscle mass and muscle strength. Finally, ethanol induces skeletal muscle apoptosis and increases both pro- and antiapoptotic regulatory mechanisms.

Time dependent study to evaluate the efficacy of zinc on hepatic marker enzymes and elemental profile in serum and liver of protein deficient rats

This study was designed to determine the time dependent protective effects of zinc sulfate on the serum and liver marker enzymes along with elemental profile in protein deficient Sprague Dawley (S.D.) female rats. Zinc sulfate in the dose of 227 mg/l in drinking water was administered to normal control as well as protein deficient rats for a total duration of 8 weeks. The effects of different treatments were studied on enzymes like alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferases (AST) and alanine aminotransferases (ALT) in rat serum at different time intervals of 1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks and in the rat liver at the end of study. The status of different essential elements in liver was also studied. The serum ALP activity got significantly depressed when estimated at the intervals of 4 and 8 weeks. Activity of serum ALT was significantly increased after 4 weeks interval in protein deficient rats and the increasing trend continued upto 8 weeks of protein deficiency. On the other hand, activity of AST showed a significant increase just after 2 weeks and activity continued to be increased up to 8 weeks. Moreover activities of all the hepato marker enzymes showed a significant increase in liver of protein deficient rats. Interestingly, supplementation of Zn to protein deficient rats helped in regulating the altered activities of ALP, AST and ALT both in serum and liver. However, zinc treatment alone to normal rats did not indicate any significant change in the activities of all the enzymes in liver as well serum except at the interval of 2 weeks where a marginal increase in the activity of AST was seen. It has also been observed that concentrations of zinc, copper, iron and selenium were found to be decreased significantly in protein deficient animals. However, the levels of these elements came back to within normal limits when zinc was administered to protein deficient rats.

Alcoholic myopathy: biochemical mechanisms

Between one- and two-thirds of all alcohol abusers have impairment of muscle function that may be accompanied by biochemical lesions and/or the presence of a defined myopathy characterised by selective atrophy of Type II fibres. Perturbations in protein metabolism are central to the effects on muscle and account for the reductions in muscle mass and fibre diameter. Ethanol abuse is also associated with abnormalities in carbohydrate (as well as lipid) metabolism in skeletal muscle. Ethanol-mediated insulin resistance is allied with the inhibitory effects of ethanol on insulin-stimulated carbohydrate metabolism. It acutely impairs insulin-stimulated glucose and lipid metabolism, although it is not known whether it has an analogous effect on insulin-stimulated protein synthesis. In alcoholic cirrhosis, insulin resistance occurs with respect to carbohydrate metabolism, although the actions of insulin to suppress protein degradation and stimulate amino acid uptake are unimpaired. In acute alcohol-dosing studies defective rates of protein synthesis occur, particularly in Type II fibre-predominant muscles. The relative amounts of mRNA-encoding contractile proteins do not appear to be adversely affected by chronic alcohol feeding, although subtle changes in muscle protein isoforms may occur. There are also rapid and sustained reductions in total (largely ribosomal) RNA in chronic studies. Loss of RNA appears to be related to increases in the activities of specific muscle RNases in these long-term studies. However, in acute dosing studies (less than 1 day), the reductions in muscle protein synthesis are not due to overt loss of total RNA. These data implicate a role for translational modifications in the initial stages of the myopathy, although changes in transcription and/or protein degradation may also be superimposed. These events have important implications for whole-body metabolism.

Relative and combined effects of ethanol and protein deficiency on strontium and barium bone content and fecal and urinary excretion

Strontium metabolism has attracted considerable interest because of to its interaction with calcium, the bone alterations detected after treatment with strontium, and its potential value as a paleodietary indicator. The effects of ethanol on strontium and barium metabolism-another divalent cation which also accumulates in bone--is largely unknown. Based on this fact, we have determined bone content and fecal and urinary excretion of Ba and Sr in four groups of eight animals each pair-fed for 8 wk with (1) a nutritionally adequate diet, (2) a 36% (as energy) ethanol-containing isocaloric diet, (3) a 2% protein, isocaloric diet, and (4) a 36% ethanol, 2% protein isocaloric diet, following the Lieber-DeCarli model. Five additional rats were fed with the control diet ad libitum. We have found that ethanol tends to decrease and a low protein diet to increase bone strontium content; the decrease in bone strontium in the ethanol-fed rats is accompanied by an increase in the absolute excretion of strontium in urine. Ethanol also decreases bone barium content, but the effect of ethanol on urinary barium excretion is opposite that of strontium, a decrease. Thus, we conclude that ethanol alters both barium and strontium metabolism and bone deposition.