fatass liver

Started by Halaljello
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Halaljello

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simple path question,

can anyone tell me in detail why fat accumulates around the liver in alcoholics or with people with liver damage? it wasn't really explained well by the prof today 😕

thanks!!
 
alright this is from a guy who absolutely SUCKS at path, so don't take my word for it.

the liver is the place where a lot of fat processing occurs. some of it is combined with proteins and exported out to various parts of the body. when the liver is damaged, those sorting processes get messed up and what you have is fat trapped in the liver unable to be exported. other things, like too much fat intake into the liver, can also result in accumulation. i'm not sure why alcohol results in a fatty liver, but we were never expected to know the detailed mechanism, only to remember the relationship.
 
Several ways:

1. Ethanol metabolism turns all the liver's NAD+ to NADH. This stimulates lipid making.

2. Acetaldehyde (byproduct of alcohol) paralyzes your microtubules so you can't transport the lipoproteins from your liver.

There are actually more ways that alcohol causes this, but I think these are the biggies.
 
True, alcohol metabolism increases NADH (or NADH2) and this stops the process Acyl-coA --> Acetyl-coA (breakdown of free fatty acids). This results in the accumulation of FFA in the form og triglycerides. Hence a fatty-lever. Furthermore, the increased NADH stops TCA-cyclus and stimulates alfa-glycerolfosfat thereby increasing fatty acid synthesis.

One might think that VLDL would transport the accumulated lipid from the liver; this is true. But the process lags behind and is evident some time after alcohol consumption.

People who have been consuming large amounts of alcohol for some time, will be able to speed up ethanoloxidation with minimal amounts of NADH production. This is because alcohol is able to induce production of enzymes related to the P-450 system, which results in less NADH.
 
wow i am impressed we really have "walking pathology textbooks" in here. I will surely count on u guys next year. I am looking foward to path. 🙂
Ur a good - Singh. :clap: :clap: :clap:
 
After just finishing Hepatology, I'll just add that Singh has pretty much summed up the thoughts of our Hepatologist who lectured us on Alcoholic Liver Disease. In addition to the presence of fatty liver, the altered redox balance also favors the formation of reactive oxygen species, which may set the course for Steatohepatitis and/or Alcoholic Cirrhosis.
 
Originally posted by Goofyone
Several ways:

1. Ethanol metabolism turns all the liver's NAD+ to NADH. This stimulates lipid making.

2. Acetaldehyde (byproduct of alcohol) paralyzes your microtubules so you can't transport the lipoproteins from your liver.

There are actually more ways that alcohol causes this, but I think these are the biggies.
Click to expand...

Sorry to correct you, but it is NADP+ to NADPH. NADPH is the bodys reductive energy for the formation of lipids and nucleic acids.
 
hey, PRE-MED....don't go correcting the med students until you know what you are talking about.

alcohol dehydrogenase is a NAD reaction, not NADP.

it forms, acetaldehyde.
this goes on to acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, and AGAIN, a NAD reduction reaction.
 
Originally posted by doc05
what's the confusion? perhaps the OP should open a copy of Robbins.
Click to expand...

Ha! perhaps you should take that long stick out of ur ass! Its not doing much good for ur attitude :laugh:
 
Here's another reason:
The synthesis of MalonylCoA in the liver is directly dependent on how much AcetylCoA the liver makes. Since alcohol oxidation increases AcetylCoA synthesis, MalonvylCoA synthesis will increase and thus the synthesis of PalmitylCoA.
 
Robbins Path will do..
Otherwise any decent biochemistry textbook will have a few pages on alcohol oxidation.
 
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