title: The effect of alcohol consumption on nutritional status during murine AIDS.
abstract: As alcohol (ETOH) abusers and AIDS patients have nutritional disorders, the influence of chronic ETOH consumption (5% v/v for 10 weeks) on levels of immunomodulatory nutrients (vitamins A and E, Zn, and Cu) in the serum, liver, small intestine, spleen, and thymus was determined during murine AIDS. The hepatic levels of vitamins A and E and Zn in both normal and LP-BM5 retrovirus-infected female C56BL/6 mice fed ETOH were significantly reduced compared to controls, whereas the level of Cu in the liver was not affected. Intestinal levels of vitamin A and Cu were not affected by ETOH, whereas vitamin E and Zn were significantly reduced in both normal mice and those with AIDS fed ETOH. The splenic levels of vitamin A and Zn in the normal mice were significantly reduced by ETOH compared to controls, but vitamin E and Cu were not. All splenic levels of nutrients measured were reduced in ETOH-fed mice with AIDS. The levels of vitamins A and E, Zn, and Cu in the thymus in murine AIDS were also significantly affected by ETOH consumption. The serum levels of vitamins A and E in both normal mice and murine AIDS were significantly decreased by dietary ETOH. These data produced evidence that chronic ETOH can directly aggravate undernutrition initiated by retrovirus infection. Such ETOH-induced malnutrition in AIDS may be a cofactor, accelerating development of AIDS via immunosuppression secondary to nutritional deficiencies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson 85724.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Watson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003300:Copper / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D007422:Intestines / Q000187:drug effects; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016183:Murine Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D013154:Spleen / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014801:Vitamin A; D014810:Vitamin E; D000431:Ethanol; D003300:Copper; D015032:Zinc