The effect of alcohol stress on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) levels inDrosophila

✍ Scribed by Kevin C. McElfresh; John F. McDonald

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1983
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 449 KB
• Volume: 21
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0006-2928
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00499145

✦ Synopsis

Previous studies carried out in mammalian systems indicated that an organism's NAD+/NADH balance is carefully regulated but can be destabilized by dietary stresses. Since Drosophila alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) uses NAD+ to remove a hydrogen from ethanol in the first step of alcohol catabolism, it is possible that under alcohol stress conditions the in vivo NAD+ levels in Drosophila may decrease. In this study genetically homozygous flies were stressed with maximally sublethal concentrations of ethanol (10%) for periods of up to 24 hr. The results indicate that NAD+ levels do in fact drop by at least 20% in response to ethanol stress. Evidence is presented that suggests that this decrease is the direct result of ADH-mediated catabolism.