Effects of acute ethanol ingestion and burn injury on serum immunoglobulin

Impaired immunoglobulin M production by incubation of hybridoma cells with ethanol

Several reports have presented results that demonstrate suppression of the immune system by ethanol. Using a hybridoma cell model, we studied the effects of ethanol on cell proliferation and on the production of immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies. The number of cells decreased while incubated with as little as 25 mM ethanol but not in a clonal subline incapable of IgM production, indicative of an increased vulnerability associated with the antibody-producing machinery. Levels of antibodies in cell culture supernatants were monitored by -heavy-chain-specific and -light-chain-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. We found a significant decrease in antibody concentration at 200 mM ethanol compared with findings for nonexposed cells. In addition, lower -chain compared with -chain values were monitored at ethanol concentrations of 50 mM and higher. This difference suggests irregular composition of the antibodies in the supernatant. Determination of IgM levels within the hybridoma cells revealed a linear increase in antibody concentrations by as much as three times the control levels with increasing ethanol concentrations when correlated with cell numbers. Analysis of the mRNA levels of two ethanol-inducible stress proteins, the 78-kilodalton glucose-regulated protein (GRP78) and the 70-kilodalton heat-shock protein (HSC70), by quantitative Northern hybridization yielded increased mRNA in a nonlinear fashion. The results demonstrate that ethanol impairs IgM composition, whereas antibody production within hybridoma cells is increased and the assembling machinery is activated, indicating compensating processes.

Acute ethanol consumption synergizes with trauma to increase monocyte tumor necrosis factor alpha production late postinjury

The hypothesis that acute ethanol uptake plus trauma can synergize to increase immunosuppression was tested. We found that, unlike non-alcohol-exposed patients, patients with acute alcohol use prior to trauma have a transient decrease in monocyte tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) production during the very early postinjury (0-3 days) period. However, TNF alpha production by these alcohol-exposed patients' monocytes (M0) became hyperelevated late postinjury (> 9 days). Consequently, these massively elevated M0 TNF alpha levels can contribute to posttrauma immunosuppression after acute alcohol use. We also demonstrate that normal monocyte activation with the superantigen, Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB), results in a preferential induction of cell-associated M0 TNF alpha production, described as characteristic of immunosuppressed trauma patients. Acute in vitro ethanol treatment down-regulated the elevated TNF alpha production by trauma patients' M0 after either SEB, muramyl-dipeptide (MDP), interferon-gamma plus MDP, or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. Both SEB- and LPS-induced TNF alpha mRNA induction was inhibited by acute alcohol treatment in normal M0, indicating that ethanol can regulate cytokine gene expression. An additional immunosuppressive effect of acute ethanol's stimulation was suggested by its induction of elevated transforming growth factor beta production in trauma patients' activated M0.