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Title: What cellular organelle might you expect to see in larger quantities when studying an alcoholic liver? Post by: Michelle on Mar 6, 2013 I need to know which cellular organelle would have higher than normal quantities in the liver of an alcoholic. I am having the hardest time figuring this out.
Title: What cellular organelle might you expect to see in larger quantities when studying an alcoholic liver? Post by: riverrat on Mar 6, 2013 When alcohol is consumed, it passes from the stomach and intestines into the blood, a process referred to as absorption. Alcohol is then metabolized by enzymes, which are body chemicals that break down other chemicals. In the liver, an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) mediates the conversion of alcohol to acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is rapidly converted to acetate by other enzymes and is eventually metabolized to carbon dioxide and water. Alcohol also is metabolized in the liver by the enzyme cytochrome P450IIE1 (CYP2E1), which may be increased after chronic drinking (3). Most of the alcohol consumed is metabolized in the liver, but the small quantity that remains unmetabolized permits alcohol concentration to be measured in breath and urine.
Most of the enzymes involved are in the cytoplasm, with the exception of cytochrome P450, which is located in mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum. Tonoplast exists only in plants cells. Liver cells do not have tonoplast. Peroxisome's main function is fatty acid oxidation. Title: What cellular organelle might you expect to see in larger quantities when studying an alcoholic liver? Post by: michelle.muhs on Mar 6, 2013 Smooth endoplasmic reticulum
The liver is responsible for filtering and removing toxins and harmful materials from your blood. This is particularly accomplished, by the enzymes produced by the smooth ER, which modify and activate them. These enzymes are responsible for detoxification, and will remove toxic byproducts of alcohol metabolism. Smooth ER is closely related to the development of tolerance. As alcoholics continue to drink, they are required to eventually consume more and more alcohol to get the same physiological effect. This is due to the fact that liver cells increase production of smooth ER, which in turn increase production of detoxifying enzymes, as higher and higher levels of alcohol are present in the blood stream. The liver becomes more efficient at processing the alcohol, and the alcoholic therefore has to increase his or her intake to feel the same effect. This is the reason the smooth ER is highly developed in the liver cells of alcoholics. |