BACKGROUND Acetaldehyde is an endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) and a volatile organic compound (VOC). It is also a carcinogen and teratogen that causes bronchoconstriction in a subset of asthmatics. However, the mechanism through which acetaldehyde acts as an EDC/VOC causing allergic airway inflammation remains unknown. OBJECTIVES To determine the effects of a low concentration of acetalde...

Chronic alcohol abuse causes liver disease that progresses from simple steatosis through stages of steatohepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and eventually hepatic failure. In addition, chronic alcoholic liver disease (ALD), with or without cirrhosis, increases risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Acetaldehyde, a major toxic metabolite, is one of the principal culprits mediating fibrogenic and ...

Effects of several beta-lactam antibiotics on the acetaldehyde-metabolizing system were studied using germ-free rats. Administration of cefamandole (CMD) to the rats caused a decrease in liver mitochondrial low Km aldehyde dehydrogenase activity and an increase in blood acetaldehyde level during ethanol metabolism, similar to the case in conventional rats. Oral administration of CMD produced a ...

Human body might be exposed to acetaldehyde from smoking or occupational environment, which is known to be associated with cancer through the formation of DNA adducts, in particular, N2-ethylidene-2'- deoxyguanosine (N2-ethylidene-dG). Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) is the major enzyme that contribute to the detoxification of acetaldehyde in human body. In this study, wild type (Aldh2+/+) and...

Correcting a genetic mutation that leads to a loss of function has been a challenge. One such mutation is in aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), denoted ALDH2*2. This mutation is present in ∼ 0.6 billion East Asians and results in accumulation of toxic acetaldehyde after consumption of ethanol. To temporarily increase metabolism of acetaldehyde in vivo, we describe an approach in which a pharmaco...

Blocking aldehyde dehydrogenase with the drug disulfiram leads to an accumulation of intracellular acetaldehyde, which negatively affects the viability of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mutants of the yeast gene PSO2, which encodes a protein specific for repair of DNA interstrand cross-links, showed higher sensitivity to disulfiram compared to the wild type. This leads us to suggest that a...

Alcohol is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a human carcinogen and its consumption has been associated to an increased risk of liver, breast, colorectum, and upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancers. Its mechanisms of carcinogenicity remain unclear and various hypotheses have been formulated depending on the target organ considered. In the case of UADT can...

We have proposed the existence of a bacteriocolonic pathway for ethanol oxidation resulting in high intracolonic levels of toxic and carcinogenic acetaldehyde. This study was aimed at determining the ability of the aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH) of aerobic bacteria representing human colonic flora to metabolize intracolonically derived acetaldehyde. The apparent Michaelis constant (Km) values f...

Antibodies directed against ethanol altered liver cell components have been detected in the serum of nearly 50% of patients with alcoholic liver disease although the pathogenetic mechanisms are unclear. The importance of ethanol metabolism in the generation of new antigenic determinants on liver cells was investigated by in vivo inhibition of alcohol or acetaldehyde dehydrogenase and an induced...

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) describes developmental issues from high maternal alcohol intake, which commonly results in fetal growth restriction and long term morbidity. We aimed to investigate the effect of alcohol and acetaldehyde, on the first trimester placenta, the period essential for normal fetal organogenesis. Normal invasion and establishment of the placenta during this time...