Conclusions
Taken together, the novel findings reveal that ethanol alone, absent of any secondary inflammatory insult, is sufficient to produce inflammation in the lung. Although these changes were relatively mild, they were associated with functional changes in the central airways. This animal model may be useful in the future for identifying mechanisms by which alcohol abuse sensitizes at-risk individuals to lung injury.
Methods
10-week-old male C57Bl6/J mice were administered ethanol-containing (or isocaloric control) liquid diet for 10 days, followed by a single ethanol gavage (5 g/kg). Lung inflammation and pulmonary function were assessed.
Results
Ten days of ethanol-containing liquid diet alone (chronic) did not detectably affect any variables measured. However, ethanol diet plus gavage (chronic + binge) caused neutrophils to accumulate in the lung tissue and in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid 24 h post-binge. This inflammatory cell recruitment was associated with airway hyper-responsiveness to inhaled methacholine, as indicated by elevated resistance, Newtonian resistance, and respiratory resistance. Conclusions: Taken together, the novel findings reveal that ethanol alone, absent of any secondary inflammatory insult, is sufficient to produce inflammation in the lung. Although these changes were relatively mild, they were associated with functional changes in the central airways. This animal model may be useful in the future for identifying mechanisms by which alcohol abuse sensitizes at-risk individuals to lung injury.