Scientists have found that the alcohol metabolite acetic acid causes abnormal movements

Drinking alcohol is harmful to health, excessive alcoholism will induce cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and metabolic diseases, and even closely related to the occurrence and development of cancer. Alcohol can also cause brain dysfunction and behavioral abnormalities, but the specific mechanism is unclear.

Recently, the National Institutes of Health research team found that the imbalance and motor coordination disorders caused by drinking alcohol are mediated by acetic acid, the metabolite of ethanol, rather than the traditional concept of ethanol. The study was published in the journal Nature Metabolism under the title: Brain ethanol metabolism by astrocytic ALDH2 drives the behavioural effects of ethanol intoxication.

Previous studies have suggested that the effect of alcohol on behavior is mainly caused by ethanol and its metabolite acetaldehyde, while acetic acid has always been considered to be a harmless alcohol metabolite to the human body. However, the team found in the study that acetic acid can increase GABA levels in mouse brain tissue, mediate ethanol-induced dyskinesia, and disrupt the balance and coordination of the cerebellum. Further research revealed that astrocytes in the cerebellum can express acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), which converts ethanol into acetic acid, which is traditionally thought to be produced by liver metabolism. To further validate the above results, the researchers knocked out the gene that expressed aldh2 in mice, and the mice that were knocked out of the gene showed resistance to alcohol-induced disorders of balance and motor coordination, which said that aldh2 of star glial cells plays a key role in alcohol metabolism in the brain.

This study shows that acetic acid is not a harmless alcohol metabolite in the traditional concept, and that astrocytes in the cerebellum can metabolize ethanol to acetic acid through ALDH2, which causes the body to impair the balance of the cerebellum and motor coordination after drinking.

Thesis link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s42255-021-00357-z

【Source: Ministry of Science and Technology】

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