Effect of Acute Murine Hepatitis (MHV-A-59) on Ethanol Oxidation in Vivo

Abstract

Studies were performed to examine the effect of mild, moderate, and severe hepatitis infection induced by murine A-59 virus on ethanol metabolism in vivo. Female inbred mice were injected intraperitoneally with 8, 12, and 16 complement fixation units of virus, which produced liver damage ranging from mild (three to four foci of necrosis and inflammation per hepatic lobule) to severe hepatitis (destruction of 70 to 90% of hepatocytes). Ethanol oxidation was measured 48 hr after infection when maximal cell damage was present as determined by light microscopy and SGOT values. Ethanol (2.4 g per kg) was injected intraperitoneally and the rate of ethanol oxidation was measured by (1) cumulative production of I4CO2 from [14C]ethanol, (2) sequential serum ethanol levels, and (3) ethanol clearance using a subcutaneous air bubble technique. Using these methods there was no difference in ethanol oxidation between infected and control animals (P