Abstract
This investigation was performed to determine whether chronic ethanol feeding alters the lipid composition or the fluidity of liver plasma membranes. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were pair-fed nutritionally adequate liquid diets containing ethanol as 36% of energy or an isocaloric amount of carbohydrate for 4-5 wk. Contrasting with other membranes, chronic ethanol feeding resulted in an increase in hepatic plasma membrane fluidity as assessed by fluorescence anisotropy. This alteration was associated with a decrease in plasma membrane cholesterol content.