Impaired
Synthesis of Immunoreactive Placental Calcitonin by Ethanol
and Its Possible Role in the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
by Georg
Buhler, Svetla Balabanova, F.A. Wolf & Julian Rosenthal
Abstract:
In
this study the effect of ethanol on placental immunoreactive
calcitonin (CT) synthesis in vitro was investigated. Separate
placental tissue samples were incubated in culture medium with
1.3mM Calcium (Ca) concentration at 37 ƒC during 6 hours. In
a parallel incubation, 2 hours after beginning of the experiment,
2.5g ethanol/kg were added to the culture medium and incubated
as previously. The CT concentrations secreted into medium were
determined by radioimmunoassay. After addition of ethanol a
decrease of CT levels up to 68% was observed. It can be assumed
that the decrease of the CT concentrations participates in the
damaging effect of alcohol on the intrauterine development of
fetus.
