Abstract
Several studies have described a dose-dependent effect of alcohol on human health with light to moderate drinkers having a lower risk of all-cause mortality than abstainers, while heavy drinkers are at the highest risk. In the case of the immune system, moderate alcohol consumption is associated with reduced inflammation and improved responses to vaccination, while chronic heavy drinking is associated with a decreased frequency of lymphocytes and increased risk of both bacterial and viral infections. However, the mechanisms by which alcohol exerts a dose-dependent effect on the immune system remain poorly understood due to a lack of systematic studies that examine the effect of multiple doses and different time courses. This review will summarize our current understanding of the impact of moderate versus excessive alcohol consumption on the innate and adaptive branches of the immune system derived from both in vitro as well as in vivo studies carried out in humans and animal model studies.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 242-251 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry |
| Volume | 65 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 4 2016 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2015 Elsevier Inc.
Funding
This work was supported by NIAAA grants AA021947 (Messaoudi), AA013510 (Grant), and AA109431 (Grant). Tasha Barr was supported by an NRSA T32 training grant ( T32 ES018827 ).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) | |
| National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism | AA013510, AA109431, R24AA019431, AA021947 |
| National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences | T32ES018827 |
| Israel National Road Safety Authority | T32 ES018827 |
Keywords
- Alcohol
- Gene expression
- Glucocorticoid
- HPA axis
- Immunity
- Infection
- Inflammation
- Vaccination
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology
- Biological Psychiatry
