Acetyl-L-carnitine diminishes the effects of chronic ethanol-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress in the cortex of rat brain

Abstract

Chronic alcohol consumption is one of the most important problems of our time. Many diseases, such as liver diseases and infectious diseases, are seen in humans due to chronic alcohol consumption. Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR), an antioxidant molecule, has been found to be neuroprotective. Accordingly, this study investigated the effect of ALCAR on endoplasmic reticulum stress in the rat cerebral cortex in a chronic alcoholism model. Four groups consisting of 10 three-month-old albino Wistar rats were randomly created. The groups were designated as control (C), chronic ethanol (EtOH), acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR), and chronic ethanol+ALCAR (EtOH+ALCAR). During a 4-week period, the rats were given either distilled water, ethanol, ALCAR, or a combination of ethanol and ALCAR orally. After a duration of 4 weeks, the animals were euthanized, and the entire brain tissues were removed and preserved in formalin fixative for further embedding in paraffin. Endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins (GRP78, CHOP, and XBP1) were analyzed by the immunohistochemical method in rat brain cortex sections. Our results showed that GRP78, CHOP, and XBP1 expressions increased in the EtOH group compared to the control group, whereas they decreased in the EtOH+ALCAR group compared to the EtOH group. In conclusion, our study showed that ALCAR administration decreased the increase in ER stress caused by chronic ethanol exposure. Accordingly, ALCAR supplementation may be beneficial for ER stress-related diseases.