Relationship between acetaldehyde levels and cell survival in ethanol-metabolizing hepatoma cells.

We have created a number of recombinant Hep G2 cell lines, designated VA cells, that constitutively express alcohol dehydrogenase. Oxidation of ethanol by the VA cells results in the production and accumulation of acetaldehyde, and a dramatic increase in the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, reduced (NADH)/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) ratio (redox-state). It is believed that production of acetaldehyde, and the increase in the redox-state of hepatocytes, are responsible for many of the dysfunctions associated with alcoholic liver disease.