Effects of Alcohol Use on Immunity and Immune Responses

Abstract

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a significant global health burden. Globally alcohol misuse is the fifth leading risk factor for premature death and disability, and accounts for ~3.3 million deaths annually. Chronic alcohol use deleteriously affects both normal behavior (e.g., depression, anxiety, and alcohol craving) and physiology (e.g., oxidative stress, intestinal hyperpermeability, immune dysfunction, and organ damage). Both heavy and binge drinking patterns alter immune frequencies, compromise immune cell function, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. Alcohol misuse can damage barrier functions in vital organs such as the lungs, gut, increase susceptibility to both bacterial and viral infections but delay wound healing. Chronic alcoholics are also at a greater risk of developing Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), alcoholic liver disease (ALD), and certain cancers. A lot of progress has been made in elucidating the relationship between alcohol consumption and immune function and how it affects human health. However, the mechanisms by which alcohol and its metabolites interacts with peripheral and tissue-resident immune systems remain poorly defined. Defining specific systemic adaptations and molecular mechanisms is important for understanding the long-term consequences of chronic alcohol use. These studies will help devise new interventions or refine existing ones to target the immune system in mitigating alcohol-related diseases. The aim of this Research Topic is to bring together new research in the alcohol field exploring the broad molecular and cellular adaptations of binge and heavy drinking on peripheral and tissue immunity. Studies would ideally include a combination of in vitro cell line models and in vivo animal models, and/or human studies of alcohol-induced end-organ damage mediated by dysregulated immune responses. Papers in this Research Topic could be used to identify complementary mechanisms and pathways that may be the focus of future therapeutic strategies. We encourage the submission of Original Research articles, as well as Reviews, Mini-Reviews, and Perspectives covering the following or related topics: 1. Innate and adaptive immune adaptations with moderate and heavy drinking. 2. Transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms of alcohol-associated immune dysfunction 3. Alcohol-microbiome cross-talk and its role on immune function. 4. Alcohol and tissue immunity – impact on barrier function, immune-stromal cell crosstalk. 5. Alcohol and immune responses to vaccines and infections. 6. Impact of alcohol on immune metabolism and mitochondrial dysfunction 7. Sex differences in the impact of heavy drinking on immune responses. 8. Organ-organ interactions and immunity o Gut-Lung-Liver axis o Gut-brain axis o Liver-brain axis