Acute models of ethanol exposure to mice.

Acute alcohol administration has minimal effects on basal immune function. However, when the immune system is challenged, acute alcohol administration alters the immune system's response. In the first 3 h after infection or traumatic injury, the presence of alcohol is associated with a decreased inflammatory response. This defect lasts long after the alcohol is cleared. Conversely, by 48 h after traumatic injury, the presence of alcohol is associated with a heightened inflammatory response. Aside from its in vivo actions, systemic administration of alcohol also alters the ex vivo response of immune cells, resulting in a decreased production of multiple cytokines after stimulation by lipopolysaccharide, concanavilin A, zymosan, and CpG DNA. Here, we describe a standardized model of acute administration of ethanol to mice used to study both the in vivo and ex vivo responses of immune cells to ethanol.