Fatty acid ethyl esters cell studies

A study published in 1990 investigated the synthesis and degradation of EAEE by rat hepatoma cells exposed to ethanol in tissue culture (Laposata, 1990). EAEE synthesis by cultured hepatoma cells was found to be linearly associated with the concentration of ethanol added to the culture medium. In addition, the enzymes responsible for the synthesis of ethyl esters were shown to be primarily membrane bound and concentrated in the microsomal fraction of the hepatocytes, rather than in the cytoplasm. It was also observed in this study that EAEEs can be hydrolyzed to free fatty acids and ethanol by membrane-bound enzymes in the microsomal and mitochondrial-lysosomal fractions. 

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