title: Chronic alcohol consumption in mice increases the proportion of peripheral memory T cells by homeostatic proliferation.
abstract: This study examined the mechanism underlying the increase of peripheral memory phenotype T cells that occurs during chronic alcohol consumption in mice. Female C57BL/6 mice were given 20% (w/v) alcohol in the drinking water for 2 weeks to 6 months. Chronic alcohol consumption significantly induced peripheral T cell lymphopenia; up-regulated expression of CD44 on T cells and increased the percentage of CD4+CD44int/hi and CD8+CD44int/hi Ly6C+ T cells; up-regulated the expression of CD43 on CD8+ T cells; increased the percentage of interferon--producing T cells; decreased the percentage of CD8+CD28+ T cells; and down-regulated the expression of CD28 on CD4+ T cells. Expression of CD25 and CD69 on peripheral CD8+ T cells was not affected and inconsistently expressed on CD4+ T cells. Neither cell type showed altered expression of CD137 or CD153. Alcohol withdrawal did not abrogate the increase in CD8+Ly6C+cells induced by alcohol consumption. In vivo bromodeoxyuridine incorporation experiments demonstrated that chronic alcohol consumption decreases naïve T cells that are presumed to have emigrated from the thymus and increases proliferation of memory T cells, but accelerates peripheral T cell turnover. Together these results indicate that chronic alcohol consumption results in T cell lymphopenia, which in turn induces T cell homeostatic proliferation that increases the proportion of peripheral memory T cells relative to naïve T cells.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Prevention and Research Center, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-6713, USA.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Gary G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Meadows
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D018106:CD28 Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000276:immunology*; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000494:pharmacology; D051917:Leukosialin / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D018106:CD28 Antigens; D051917:Leukosialin; D007371:Interferon-gamma