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Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access published online on March 6, 2007
Alcohol and Alcoholism, doi:10.1093/alcalc/agm005
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The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Medical Council on Alcohol.

Clinical approach to intestinal maturation in neonates prenatally exposed to alcohol

Carmen Través1, Oriol Coll3, Vicens Cararach3, Antoni Gual2, Begoña Martínez De Tejada3 and M. Dolores López-Tejero1,*

1 Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av/ Diagonal 645, E-08028 Barcelona
2 Unitat d'Alcohologia, Institut Clínic de Psicologia i Psiquiatria, Hospital Clínic, Villarroel 170, E-08036 Barcelona
3 Department of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Hospital Clínic, Universitat de Barcelona, IDIBAPS, Sabino de Arana 1, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed at: Departament de Bioquiacutemca i Biologia Molecular, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av/ Diagonal 645, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain. Fax: 3-4021559; E-mail: dolopez{at}ub.edu

Received 21 November 2006; first review notified 15 December 2006; in revised form 24 January 2007; accepted 25 January 2007


  Abstract

Aim: The need for a non-invasive diagnosis of the effects of ethanol in utero on the development of the intestine in humans led us to look for a serum marker of the structural integrity of the intestine. We propose apolipoprotein A-IV (apoA-IV) as a possible candidate. In humans this protein is synthesized only by intestinal mucosa, it is expressed in the enterocyte of the foetus from 20 weeks of gestation, and it is released to the blood stream after synthesis. Methods: We measured the levels of apoA-IV in the umbilical cord serum of neonates whose mothers had consumed alcohol during pregnancy and neonates born to women who had not (controls).The gestational age at delivery of the cases studied ranged from 36 to 42 weeks. ELISA and Western blot analysis were used. Results: There was no difference in the mean body weight of neonates from either group. Nevertheless, exposure to ethanol in utero significantly reduced (by about 30%) the apoA-IV levels in serum at birth, regardless of body weight. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that circulating apoA-IV levels could be used as a clinical marker of the prenatal effects of ethanol on the structural integrity of the intestine. Neonatal diagnosis of these intestinal effects could improve post-natal outcome.


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