This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pavia, C. S.
Right arrow Articles by Kavanagh, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Pavia, C. S.
Right arrow Articles by Kavanagh, M.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, March 2002, p. 282-286, Vol. 9, No. 2
1071-412X/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.9.2.282-286.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Impaired Bactericidal Activity and Host Resistance to Listeria monocytogenes and Borrelia burgdorferi in Rats Administered an Acute Oral Regimen of Ethanol

Charles S. Pavia,1* Cynthia M. Harris,2 and Marie Kavanagh3

Departments of Microbiology,1 Pharmacology,2 Pathology, New York College of Osteopathic Medicine of the New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, New York 115683

Received 16 May 2001/ Returned for modification 26 June 2001/ Accepted 2 January 2002

A rat model was used to examine how ethanol ingestion may interfere with antimicrobial immunity both in vitro and in vivo. Nonimmune Long-Evans rats were given a short-course treatment orally with excessive amounts of ethanol. Their spleens were removed at the time of sacrifice, and separate spleen cell suspensions were prepared and tested in vitro for their ability to kill two bacterial pathogens, Listeria monocytogenes and Borrelia burgdorferi. After the bacteria were mixed separately with various concentrations of spleen cells, it was found that spleen cells from the ethanol-treated rats killed fewer bacteria than matching pair-fed controls, based on counts of the number of cultured CFU (for Listeria) or based on microscopic examination (for Borrelia). For the in vivo studies, ethanol-treated and control rats were infected intraperitoneally with Listeria, and then, 1 to 3 days later, they were assessed for systemic infection based on the numbers of organisms present in their livers and spleens. Numbers of bacterial CFU for both organs were significantly higher in the group fed ethanol for the first 2 days after listerial challenge. These results support the concept that acute exposure to high levels of ethanol can impair host defense mechanisms, especially those expressed at the cellular level, which could lead to increased susceptibility to certain types of infections.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Dept. of Microbiology, NYCOM 1 building, NYIT, Old Westbury, NY 11568. Phone: (516) 686-3778. Fax: (516) 686-3832. E-mail: cpavia{at}iris.nyit.edu.

Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, March 2002, p. 282-286, Vol. 9, No. 2
1071-412X/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.9.2.282-286.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»