Immunoglobulin M synthesis after burn injury: the effects of chronic ethanol on postinjury synthesis.

The effect of chronic ethanol ingestion on class-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) synthesis after burn injury was investigated in C57BL/6 mice. Animals were divided into four groups: control, burn, ethanol-sham, and ethanol-burn groups. Five days after injury or the last ethanol ingestion, cell suspensions from spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes were prepared. The number of class-specific Ig-bearing cells were counted by flow cytometry. The cell suspensions were cultured with lipopolysaccharide for 4 days. The supernatants from these cultures were tested for class-specific Ig by enzyme-linked immunoassay. No change occurred in the amount of class-specific IgG and IgA produced by 10(5) lymphocytes calculated from both of these data. Both burn and ethanol alone impaired IgM synthesis; splenic IgM was most affected by burn, and mesenteric lymph node IgM was most affected by ethanol. The group receiving ethanol before burn had IgM synthesis significantly impaired in both lymphocyte populations. Because IgM is the most important Ig in resistance to bacterial infection, this consistent suppression of IgM synthesis in both these tissues may contribute to increased incidence and severity of acute infection.