Altered oxidative stress/antioxidant status in blood of alcoholic subjects is associated with alcoholic liver disease  Elena Grasselli, Andrea D. Compalati, Adriana Voci, Giulia Vecchione, Milena Ragazzoni, Gabriella Gallo, Paolo Borro, Alessandro Sumberaz, Gianni Testino, Laura Vergani  Drug & Alcohol Dependence  Volume 143, Pages 112-119 (October 2014) DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.07.013 Copyright © 2014 Terms and Conditions

Fig. 1 Distribution of liver steatosis score in alcoholic group. The pie chart represents the values for liver steatosis score among all alcoholic subjects included in this study. Score ranges from 0 to 3: absent steatosis (score 0) was defined as normal liver echotexture; mild steatosis (score 1) as slight and diffuse increase in fine parenchymal echoes with normal visualization of diaphragm and portal vein borders; moderate steatosis (score 2) as moderate and diffuse increase in fine echoes with slightly impaired visualization of portal vein borders and diaphragm; and severe steatosis (score 3) as fine echoes with poor or no visualization of portal vein borders, diaphragm, and posterior portion of the right lobe. Drug & Alcohol Dependence 2014 143, 112-119DOI: (10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.07.013) Copyright © 2014 Terms and Conditions

Fig. 2 Effects of alcohol consumption on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzyme activities. (A) Malondialdehyde levels (TBARS, nmol MDA/mg Hb). (B) Catalase (CAT) specific activity (mmol H2O2/min/mg Hb) and (C) superoxide dismutase (SOD) specific activity (mU/mg Hb) in RBCs were measured for C and AL groups. Data (mean±S.D.) of N=3 replicates are reported. Graphic representations are box and whisker plots depicting a five-number summary: minimum, first quartile, median, third quartile, and maximum; if present, outliers are also indicated by filled dot. Differences among means were assessed using the Mann–Whitney rank sum test and P values were indicated in the graphs. Drug & Alcohol Dependence 2014 143, 112-119DOI: (10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.07.013) Copyright © 2014 Terms and Conditions

Fig. 3 Effects of alcohol consumption on metallothionein expression. (A) Relative abundance of the three MT isoforms was quantified in leucocytes from healthy controls by using qPCR. Amplification curves of MT-1A, MT-1E and MT-2A are shown with a crossing point at approximately 28.25, 23.50 and 19.80 cycles, respectively. X-axis: amplification cycle number. Y-axis: normalized fluorescence signal. Expression of MT-1A (B); MT-1E (C); and MT2A (D) isoforms in leukocytes from C and AL and groups was measured. Relative expression of each MT isoform was quantified by qPCR using GAPDH mRNA as a reference. Expression values are given as fold induction with respect to controls (mean±S.D.) of N=3 replicates. Graphic representations are box and whisker plots depicting a five-number summary: minimum, first quartile, median, third quartile, and maximum; if present, outliers are also indicated filled dot. Differences among means were assessed using the Mann–Whitney rank sum test and P values were indicated in the graphs. Drug & Alcohol Dependence 2014 143, 112-119DOI: (10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.07.013) Copyright © 2014 Terms and Conditions

Fig. 4 Correlation between liver steatosis score and AST/ALT ratio. ALT/AST ratio was measured as a function of steatosis score. AL patients were divided into four groups on the basis of steatosis score (0–3) as described in Fig. 1. Graphic representations are box and whisker plots depicting a five-number summary: minimum, first quartile, median, third quartile, and maximum; if present, outliers are also indicated filled dot. Differences among means were assessed using the ANOVA followed by Tukey post-hoc. P≤0.05 was considered to be significantly different. Drug & Alcohol Dependence 2014 143, 112-119DOI: (10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.07.013) Copyright © 2014 Terms and Conditions