Short- and long-term effects of acetaldehyde on plasma

The effect of low concentrations of acetaldehyde on activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and prothrombin time (PT) of Accuclot coagulation plasmas was monitored over a prolonged time to mimic effects observed in alcoholism. A prolongation of the APTT from 31.9 ± 0.7 s to 32.6 ± 0.9 s ( n = 8; P = .007) was observed after a 30-min preincubation time with 140 μ M acetaldehyde. However, a minimum of 3.6 m M acetaldehyde was required to extend the APTT from 36.6 ± 1.0 s to 41.2 ± 0.8 s ( P = .001) over an 18-h exposure time. Plasma acetaldehyde levels as low as 2.24 m M caused elevation of PTs from 12.5 ± 0.5 s to 14.4 ± 0.2 s ( P = .005) after a 24-h preincubation time. These findings seem to indicate that short-term contact of acetaldehyde with plasma, probably yielding reversible interactions, may interfere with APTTs to a greater extent than long-term contact, which would presumably yield stable, irreversible interactions. In comparing the effects of 8.94, 17.9, 89.4, and 447 m M acetaldehyde on the PTs of Level I, II, and III plasma, the PTs were most increasingly prolonged in Level III plasma and least prolonged in Level I plasma at each acetaldehyde concentration, although the plasmas have comparable protein concentrations. These findings seem to indicate that coagulation factors are sensitive to inactivation by acetaldehyde.