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Fatty acid‐binding protein: A major contributor to the ethanol‐induced increase in liver cytosolic proteins in the rat

To study the acute and chronic effects of ethanol on hepatic fatty acid‐binding protein, rats were pair‐fed with liquid diets containing 36% of energy either as ethanol or as additional carbohydrate for 4 to 5 weeks. Animals were killed 90 min after intragastric administration of diets with or without ethanol. Alcohol feeding markedly increased liver triglycerides, with a modest rise in nonesterified fatty acids. Alcohol‐fed rats developed hepatomegaly, with a 48% increase in hepatic cytosolic proteins. Fatty acid binding was first assessed by the kinetics of [14C]palmitate binding to cytosolic proteins. The maximal binding capacity more than doubled in the cytosol of the ethanol‐fed rats compared to pair‐fed controls, whereas the dissociation constant increased by 64%. Acute ethanol administration (3 gm per kg body weight) either to ethanol‐fed or control rats did not have a significant effect. To identify the fatty acid‐binding protein, labeled cytosolic proteins were fractionated by gel filtration: most of the cytosolic fatty acids eluted as a single peak in the 12,000 to 18,000 molecular weight region corresponding to the hepatic fatty acid‐binding protein. The increase in this protein, confirmed by radial immunodiffusion (27.0 ± 1.4 mg per 100 gm body weight vs. 11.2 ± 1.6, in controls; p < 0.01), accounted for 22% of the total rise in cytosolic protein induced by chronic ethanol feeding.