Abstract
During adolescence, the brain is highly susceptible to alcohol-induced damage and subsequent neuroimmune responses, effects which may enhance development of an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Neuroimmune reactions are implicated in adolescent alcohol exposure escalating adulthood drinking. Therefore, we investigated whether intermittent alcohol exposure in male, adolescent rats (AIE) escalated adult drinking via two-bottle choice (2BC). We also examined the influence of housing environment across three groups: standard (group-housed with enrichment during 2BC), impoverished (group-housed without enrichment during 2BC), or isolation (single-housed without bedding or enrichment throughout). In the standard group immediately after AIE/saline and after 2BC, we also examined the expression of microglial marker, Iba1, reactive astrocyte marker, vimentin, and neuronal cell death dye, FluoroJade B (FJB). We did not observe an escalation of adulthood drinking following AIE, regardless of housing condition. Further, only a modest neuroimmune response occurred after AIE in the standard group: no significant microglial reactivity or neuronal cell death was apparent using this model, although some astrocyte reactivity was detected in adolescence following AIE that resolved by adulthood. These data suggest that the lack of neuroimmune response in adolescence in this model may underlie the lack of escalation of alcohol drinking, which could not be modified through isolation stress.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2023
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12212572
Funding Information
This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: R01 AA025591 (K.N.), T32 AA007471 (J.I.W.), and F32 AA029928 (J.K.M.) as well as start-up funds from The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy.
Repository Citation
Wooden, Jessica I.; Peacoe, Lauren E.; Shaji, Chinchusha Anasooya; Melbourne, Jennifer K.; Chandler, Cassie M.; Bardo, Michael T.; and Nixon, Kimberly, "Adolescent Intermittent Ethanol Drives Modest Neuroinflammation but Does Not Escalate Drinking in Male Rats" (2023). Psychology Faculty Publications. 225.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/psychology_facpub/225
Notes/Citation Information
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).