Low plasma antibodies specific for phosphatidylethanol in alcohol abusers and patients with alcoholic pancreatitis
ABSTRACT Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is a group of alcohol‐modified phospholipids present in cell membranes after heavy drinking. Our aim was to demonstrate the presence of human plasma antibodies binding to PEth and to address their specificity and value in detecting subjects engaged in heavy alcoho...
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Published in | Addiction biology Vol. 17; no. 6; pp. 1057 - 1067 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Oxford, UK
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
01.11.2012
John Wiley & Sons, Inc |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | ABSTRACT
Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is a group of alcohol‐modified phospholipids present in cell membranes after heavy drinking. Our aim was to demonstrate the presence of human plasma antibodies binding to PEth and to address their specificity and value in detecting subjects engaged in heavy alcohol consumption. Antibodies to PEth were analyzed in plasma from heavy drinkers (n = 20), patients with alcoholic pancreatitis (n = 58) and control subjects (n = 24), using chemiluminescent immunoassay. Heavy drinkers and patients with alcoholic pancreatitis demonstrated significantly lower levels of plasma IgG, IgA and IgM titers to PEth compared with controls (P < 0.001). The specificity of the antibodies to PEth was demonstrated with competitive liquid phase immunoassays and flow cytometry. The plasma IgG, but not IgA or IgM, titers to PEth in heavy drinkers correlated with the whole blood PEth concentration determined by liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry (r = 0.655, P = 0.002). Compared with traditional markers for alcohol abuse (aspartate aminotransferase, gamma‐glutamyl transpeptidase and mean corpuscular volume), receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that a low plasma IgA to PEth had the highest area under the curve (AUC 0.940, P < 0.001). In conclusion, plasma IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies binding specifically to PEth were found in subjects of all study groups. Subjects with heavy alcohol consumption showed markedly lower plasma immunoglobulin levels to PEth, potentially making them useful as a biomarker to distinguish heavy from moderate alcohol use. |
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Bibliography: | ark:/67375/WNG-1ZS1FKTB-3 istex:F277C1C040973E18F1859CF4F1E73D3E1FC42F9C ArticleID:ADB279 This work was supported by European Research Advisory Board (Grant Ref EA 06 40), The Foundation for Finnish Inventions, the Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies, Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research, Sigrid Juselius Foundation, Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation, Maud Kuistila Foundation, Sohlberg Foundation, Instrumentarium Science Foundation and Academy of Finland. ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Feature-1 |
ISSN: | 1355-6215 1369-1600 1369-1600 |
DOI: | 10.1111/j.1369-1600.2010.00279.x |