Intermittent ethanol exposure increases the number of cerebellar microglia.
OBJECTIVE
The number of cerebellar microglia after 5(1)/2 months of continuous or intermittent ethanol exposure was studied using the optical dissector method.


METHODS
Male Wistar rats were divided into three groups: an intermittently ethanol-exposed group, a continuously ethanol-exposed group and a control group (n = 6 in each group). The intermittently treated rats had two ethanol-withdrawal periods per week throughout the experiment. The number of microglia was measured in the anterior (folium II) and the posterior (folium X) cerebellar vermis. Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) lectin was used to stain the cerebellar microglia.


RESULTS
The volumes of folia II and X were similar in all the groups. The number of microglia increased in the molecular layer of folium II in the intermittently ethanol-exposed group compared with the continuously exposed and control groups. In the granular layer, there were no differences between the groups in the number of microglia.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that the number of cerebellar microglia increases in the anterior vermis before any ethanol-induced cerebellar atrophy is discernible. Repeated ethanol withdrawals seem to be more essential in inducing microgliosis than ethanol intoxication per se.
Riikonen
Jarno
J
Tampere School of Public Health, FIN-33014 University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
Jaatinen
Pia
P
Rintala
Jyrki
J
Pörsti
Ilkka
I
Karjala
Kirsi
K
Hervonen
Antti
A
D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D017628:Microglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D000431:Ethanol