Alcohol and the Immune System

Volume 37, Number 2, 2015

Alcohol can either activate or suppress the immune system depending on, for example, how much is consumed and how concentrated it is in the various tissues and organs. That dual action predisposes heavy drinkers both to increased infection and to chronic inflammation. This issue of Alcohol Research: Current Reviews details how alcohol affects the immune system and how researchers are harnessing this knowledge to help prevent and treat alcohol-related harm.

Table of Contents

• Editors' Note [PDF]
  Dipak Sarkar, Ph.D., D.Phil.; M. Katherine Jung, Ph.D.; and H. Joe Wang, Ph.D.
• Alcohol's Effect on Host Defense [PDF]
  Gyongyi Szabo, Ph.D., M.D., and Banishree Saha, Ph.D.
• Sidebar: Primer on the Immune System [PDF]
  Martin J. Spiering, Ph.D., ELS
• Alcohol Use As a Risk Factor in Infections and Healing: A Clinician's Perspective [PDF]
  Giraldina Trevejo-Nunez, M.D.; Jay K. Kolls, M.D.; and Marjolein de Wit, M.D.
• Impact of Alcohol Abuse on the Adaptive Immune System [PDF]
  Sumana Pasala, Ph.D.; Tasha Barr; and Ilhem Messaoudi, Ph.D.
• Alcohol's Effects on Lung Health and Immunity [PDF]
  Samantha M. Simet, Ph.D., and Joseph H. Sisson, M.D.
• The First Line of Defense: The Effects of Alcohol on Post-Burn Intestinal Barrier, Immune Cells, and Microbiome [PDF]
  Adam M. Hammer, Niya L. Morris, Zachary M. Earley, and Mashkoor A. Choudhry, Ph.D.
• Focus On: The Gastrointestinal Microbiome: Alcohol Effects on the Composition of Intestinal Microbiota [PDF]
  Phillip A. Engen; Stefan J. Green, Ph.D.; Robin M. Voigt, Ph.D.; Christopher B. Forsyth, Ph.D.; and Ali Keshavarzian, M.D.
• The Role of Innate Immunity in Alcoholic Liver Disease [PDF]
  Laura Nagy, Ph.D.
• Focus On: Macrophages and Alcohol-Related Liver Inflammation [PDF]
  Cynthia Ju, Ph.D., and Pranoti Mandrekar, Ph.D.
• Alcohol's Burden on Immunity Following Burn, Hemorrhagic Shock, or Traumatic Brain Injury [PDF]
  Patricia E. Molina, M.D., Ph.D.; Paige S. Katz, Ph.D.; Flavia Souza-Smith, Ph.D.; Stephen M. Ford; Sophie X. Teng, Ph.D.; Tracy Y. Dodd, Ph.D.; John K. Maxi; and Jacques P. Mayeux, M.S.
• Focus On: Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and the Developing Immune System [PDF]
  Theresa W. Gauthier, M.D.
• Focus On: Alcohol and HIV Effects on the Immune System [PDF]
  Gregory J. Bagby, Ph.D.; Angela M. Amedee, Ph.D.; Robert W. Siggins, Ph.D.; Patricia E. Molina, M.D., Ph.D.; Steve Nelson, M.D.; and Ronald S. Veazey, D.V.M., Ph.D.
• Focus On: Alcohol and Viral Hepatitis: Role of Lipid Rafts [PDF]
  Angela Dolganiuc, M.D., Ph.D.
• Effects of Alcohol on Tumor Growth, Metastasis, Immune Response, and Host Survival [PDF]
  Gary G. Meadows, Ph.D., and Hui Zhang, Ph.D.
• Neuroimmune Function and the Consequences of Alcohol Exposure [PDF]
  Fulton T. Crews, Ph.D.; Dipak K. Sarkar, Ph.D., D.Phil.; Liya Qin, Ph.D.; Jian Zou, Ph.D.; Nadka Boyadjieva, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sci.; and Ryan P. Vetreno, Ph.D.