Effect of alcohol on urinary and blood dolichols

Abstract

Alcohol appears to affect dolichol metabolism, as both serum and urinary dolichol concentrations were found to be significantly higher in alcoholics than in social drinkers. Furthermore, acute heavy drinking (5.5 g alcohol/kg body weight during 42 h) increased urinary dolichol excretion significantly, whereas moderate drinking (60 g/day for 10 days) had no effect. Increased urinary dolichol concentrations in alcoholics returned rapidly to normal with a half-life decay of 3 days, whereas increased serum dolichol concentrations did not change during a 7-day observation period. The mechanism behind alcohol-induced alterations in dolichol metabolism remains unclear, but based on our results, it seems likely that serum and urinary dolichols are regulated independently from each other.Key words: polyprenols, biological membranes, substance abuse, lysosomes.