Protein metabolism in alcoholism: effects on specific tissues and the whole body

Abstract

Ethanol is one of the few nutrients that is profoundly toxic. Alcohol causes both whole-body and tissue-specific changes in protein metabolism. Chronic ethanol misuse increases nitrogen excretion with concomitant loss of lean tissue mass. Even acute doses of alcohol elicit increased nitrogen excretion. The loss of skeletal muscle protein (i.e., chronic alcoholic myopathy) is one of several adverse reactions to alcohol and occurs in up to two-thirds of all ethanol misusers. There are a variety of other diseases and tissue abnormalities that are entirely due to ethanol-induced changes in the amounts of individual proteins or groups of tissue proteins; for example, increased hepatic collagen in cirrhosis, reduction in myosin in cardiomyopathy, and loss of skeletal collagen in osteoporosis. Ethanol induces changes in protein metabolism in probably all organ or tissue systems. Clinical studies in alcoholic patients without overt liver disease show reduced rates of skeletal muscle protein synthesis though whole-body protein turnover does not appear to be significantly affected. Protein turnover studies in alcohol misusers are, however, subject to artifactual misinterpretations due to non-abstinence, dual substance misuse (e.g., cocaine or tobacco), specific nutritional deficiencies, or the presence of overt organ dysfunction. As a consequence, the most reliable data examining the effects of alcohol on protein metabolism is derived from animal studies, where nutritional elements of the dosing regimen can be strictly controlled. These studies indicate that, both chronically and acutely, alcohol causes reductions in skeletal muscle protein synthesis, as well as of skin, bone, and the small intestine. Chronically, animal studies also show increased urinary nitrogen excretion and loss of skeletal muscle protein. With respect to skeletal muscle, the reductions in protein synthesis do not appear to be due to the generation of reactive oxygen species, are not prevented with nitric oxide synthase inhibitors, and may be indirectly mediated by the reactive metabolite acetaldehyde. Changes in skeletal muscle protein metabolism have profound implications for whole body physiology, while protein turnover changes in organs such as the heart (exemplified by complex alterations in protein profiles) have important implications for cardiovascular function and morbidity.