IMR Press / JIN / Volume 20 / Issue 4 / DOI: 10.31083/j.jin2004094
Open Access Original Research
Repetitive binge-like consumption based on the Drinking-in-the-Dark model alters the microglial population in the mouse hippocampus
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1 Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 27707, USA
2 Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, Fred P. Wilson School of Pharmacy, High Point University, High Point, NC 27268, USA
*Correspondence: alex.marshall@nccu.edu (S. Alex Marshall)
These authors contributed equally.
J. Integr. Neurosci. 2021, 20(4), 933–943; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.jin2004094
Submitted: 28 September 2021 | Revised: 5 November 2021 | Accepted: 23 November 2021 | Published: 30 December 2021
Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Abstract

Alcoholism causes various maladaptations in the central nervous system, including the neuroimmune system. Studies of alcohol-induced dysregulation of the neuroimmune system generally focus on alcohol dependence and brain damage, but our previous research indicates that repetitive binge-like consumption perturbs cytokines independent of cell death. This paper extends that research by examining the impact of binge-like consumption on microglia in the hippocampus and the amygdala. Microglia were assessed using immunohistochemistry following binge-like ethanol consumption based on Drinking-in-the-Dark model. Immunohistochemistry results showed that binge-like ethanol consumption caused an increase in Iba-1 immunoreactivity and the number of Iba-1+ cells after one Drinking-in-the-Dark cycle. However, after three Drinking-in-the-Dark cycles, the number of microglia decreased in the hippocampus. We showed that in the dentate gyrus, the average immunoreactivity/cell was increased following ethanol exposure despite the decrease in number after three cycles. Likewise, Ox-42, an indicator of microglia activation, was upregulated after ethanol consumption. No significant effects on microglia number or immunoreactivity (Iba-1 nor Ox-42) were observed in the amygdala. Finally, ethanol caused an increase in the expression of the microglial gene Aif-1 during intoxication and ten days into abstinence, suggesting persistence of ethanol-induced upregulation of microglial genes. Altogether, these findings indicate that repetitive binge-like ethanol is sufficient to elicit changes in microglial reactivity. This altered neuroimmune state may contribute to the development of alcohol use disorders.

Keywords
Alcohol use disorder
Microglia
Neuroimmune
Amygdala
Hippocampus
Binge-like drinking
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