Excessive ethanol consumption is known to have adverse effects on the body. One such effect is the inhibition of protein synthesis. An experimental system to monitor protein synthesis was developed in which a plasmid containing the luciferase gene was transiently transfected into h293 cells. These transfected cells can be exposed to ethanol, which causes a decrease in luciferase activity consistent with inhibition of protein synthesis. A similar inhibition of luciferase activity was observed with the well-known protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide; however, this effect could be the result of luciferase transcription inhibition. To rule out this possibility, mRNA was isolated from transfected cells, treated with ethanol. The amount of luciferase mRNA was evaluated using PCR techniques and compared to controls. The goal was to determine if RNA, measured through PCR, from ethanol treated cells produced less RNA than a control group. The results of these experiments to determine whether ethanol is inhibiting protein translation are presented.

Exploring the ethanol inhibition of protein synthesis

2019 Spring National Meeting

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