Defective Calcium Increase and Inositol Phosphate Production in Anti-CD3-Stimulated Lymphocytes of Alcoholics without Progressive Liver Disease

Intracellular free calcium concentration, phosphoinositide turnover, and inositol phosphate production were analyzed in peripheral blood lymphocytes from seven well-nourished alcoholic patients without severe acute or chronic liver disease, before and after stimulation with anti-CD₃ antibody. Seven comparable nondrinkers were studied as controls. A lower increase in intracellular free calcium concentration was detected in alcoholics, after anti-CD₃ stimulation of lymphocytes, than in control subjects. Lymphocyte activation generated inositol phosphates in both controls and alcoholics, but inositol phosphate production was significantly lower in alcoholics. The agreement between these findings indicates that the reduction in inositol phosphates is one of the most important events in the early phases of lymphocyte activation in alcoholics.