Ethanol impairs neutrophil chemotaxis in vitro but not adherence or recruitment to lungs of rats with experimental pneumococcal pneumonia.

The effect of 7 days of ethanol ingestion on circulating neutrophil (PMNL) counts and PMNL adherence, chemotaxis, and recruitment was investigated. Pair-feeding of rats resulted in a significant decrease in PMNL counts in both ethanol-fed and control rats. The mean number of PMNL exhibiting chemotaxis in a modified Boyden chamber in response to lipopolysaccharide-activated normal rat serum was significantly decreased in ethanol-fed rats compared with controls. The percentage of adherence to nylon wool columns, however, was similar in both groups. To measure pulmonary PMNL recruitment, rats were infected transtracheally with 10(5) Streptococcus pneumoniae and sacrificed. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from both groups contained similar numbers of PMNL 8 h after infection. By 24 h, PMNL numbers in lavage fluid from ethanol-fed rats exceeded those in controls. PMNL recruitment continued in the ethanol-fed rats at 48 and 72 h, whereas values in controls had returned to baseline. Thus, the impaired pulmonary defense against S. pneumoniae in ethanol-fed rats is not due to defective PMNL recruitment.