This is because studies suggest that heavy drinking — defined as over 8 drinks per week for women and 15 per week for men — can disrupt key immune pathways, make people more susceptible to infection, and weaken the immune system. Acetaldehyde is the toxic byproduct that contributes to tissue damage, alcohol dependence, and addiction (Zakhari 2006). It can also bind to other proteins to form adducts, such as malondialdehyde (MDA) and MDA-acetaldehyde (MAA), which play a key role in the development of liver injury and stimulate antibody responses that further promote liver inflammation and fibrosis (Tuma and Casey 2003).
Studies in laboratory animals have confirmed the adverse effects of acute alcohol exposure on pulmonary infections. Pneumoniae impaired lung chemokine activity in response to the infection, which resulted in reduced recruitment of immune cells into the lungs, decreased bacterial clearance from the lungs, and increased mortality (Boé et al. 2001; Raasch et al. 2010). The effects of both acute and chronic alcohol exposure on the immune responses in the lungs and thus on susceptibility to pulmonary infections are discussed in more detail in the article by Simet and Sisson. It is increasingly evident that sensitization of proinflammatory pathways to activation in monocytes and macrophages after chronic alcohol use has biological and clinical significance. It is known that alcohol-mediated sensitization of immune cells to gut-derived LPS is a major component in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease and alcoholic pancreatitis (Choudhry et al. 2002; Keshavarzian et al. 1994; Nolan 2010; Szabo et al. 2010, 2011). In fact, in acute alcoholic hepatitis, the severity of clinical outcome and death correlates with serum levels of the proinflammatory cytokines, particularly TNFα (Frazier et al. 2011; McClain et al. 2004).
Alcohol
Experts recommend avoiding excessive amounts of alcohol if you have diabetes or hypoglycemia. These effects might not last very long, but that doesn’t make them insignificant. Impulsiveness, loss of coordination, and changes in mood can affect your judgment and behavior and contribute to more far-reaching effects, including accidents, injuries, and decisions you later regret. Drinking alcohol can influence your psychological functioning and well-being.
To this end, one study analyzed IL-10, IL-6, IL-18, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) levels in 25 non-treating seeking heavy drinkers after they had consumed an alcoholic drink. The researchers reported significant reductions in the TNF-α levels three and six hours after the alcohol consumption. Each of these events is mediated by the activation of nuclear does alcohol weaken your immune system factor kappa B (NFκB), which can be inhibited by alcohol consumption and thus prevent the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In vivo studies have confirmed that binge drinking with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of approximately 0.4% can reduce the production of various inflammatory cytokines including interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-10, and IL-12.
Liver
Research has shown that when alcohol is removed from the body, it activates brain and nerve cells, resulting in excessive excitability (hyperexcitability). If you drink more than 12 units of alcohol, you’re at considerable risk of developing alcohol poisoning, particularly if you’re drinking many units over a short period of time. “If you have a family history of alcohol abuse, or are at risk, or have been an abuser in the past, we are not recommending you go out and drink to improve your immune system,” says Messaoudi. The monkeys classed as heavy drinkers showed diminished responses to the vaccine, compared with the monkeys that consumed sugar water. But the investigators were surprised to find that the monkeys deemed as moderate drinkers demonstrated an enhanced vaccine response.
- You can lower the risk of alcohol impacting your immune system by drinking less.
- Thus, in human monocytes and myeloid DCs, alcohol inhibits the cells’ antigen-presentation function as well as their capacity to induce antigen-specific (Mandrekar et al. 2009) and general T-cell activation (Szabo et al. 2001).
- Weekly intimacy seems to help boost your immune system compared to those who have it less often.
- Past research shows alcohol consumption leads to more severe lung diseases, like adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and other pulmonary diseases, including pneumonia, tuberculosis, and respiratory syncytial virus.
- Vitamin E is one of the most effective antioxidants and its deficiency exacerbates freeradical damage impairing the ability of T cells to respond to pathogenic challenge (Mocchegiani, Costarelli et al. 2014).
The exact triggers for alcohol-induced inflammation in the different tissues are yet to be identified. Importantly, deficiency in TLR4, the major sensor of LPS, attenuates inflammation induced by chronic alcohol use in the liver, brain, and intestine (Hritz et al. 2008; Lippai et al. 2013a,b, 2014). However, LPS increase was not found in the brain, suggesting that other ligands and/or alcohol itself may activate TLR4 (Alfonso-Loeches et al. 2010; Lippai et al. 2013b). Many studies have evaluated the effects of chronic alcohol on adaptive immune responses, and this research is reviewed in more detail in the article by Pasala and colleagues in this issue. Chronic alcoholics have impaired T-cell responses; moreover, the balance between Th1 and Th2 responses is shifted toward a predominance of Th2-type responses (Fan et al. 2011; Lau et al. 2006; Szabo 1999). Consistent with this, chronic alcoholics exhibit an increase in IgA and a relative decrease in IgG antibodies, which play a role in antibody-dependent cell-mediated immune responses (Massonnet et al. 2009; Nouri-Aria et al. 1986).
Short-term effects of alcohol on the immune system
Alcohol also influences the functions of the lymphoid tissue and alter the activation, secretion, and functions of crucial immune cells called lymphocytes. An army of antibodies — Another subsystem of the immune system is called adaptive immunity. This is when the body produces an army of antibodies specific to the incoming threat. This generates “immune memory,” which ensures that the next time the body faces the same invader, the immune system is better equipped to take it down. Before you decide whether to pour a glass, it’s worth understanding how alcohol influences the immune system — as well as taking the time to reflect on your own relationship with alcohol. Alcohol does affect your ability to stay healthy, but that’s also dependent on how much you’re drinking.
In addition, production of IL-10 in response to TLR2/6 stimulation was increased (Pruett, Zheng et al. 2004). This same treatment also inhibited the in vitro production of IL-6 and IL-12 by peritoneal macrophages harvested 2 hours following injection of LPS (Pruett, Fan et al. 2005). This phenomenon was not observed in a TLR4 mutant mouse, indicating that the acute phase response is mediated by TLR4 (Pruett and Pruett 2006). Ethanol modulates the function of monocytes, immature innate immune cells that circulate in the blood until recruited into tissues, in a dose and time dependent manner. Monocytes express Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4, which is the PRR responsible for recognizing the endotoxin LPS on the surface of Gram negative bacteria. Upon LPS binding, monocytes become activated, mature into macrophages and migrate into tissues where they respond to infection by secreting various cytokines, recruiting additional leukocytes via production of chemokines and presenting pathogen-derived peptides to T cells to activate them.
This alcohol-mediated dendritic cell dysfunction prevents the organism from generating virus-specific adaptive immune responses involving CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes, which may contribute to the acquisition and persistence of hepatitis C infection (Siu et al. 2009). The innate immune response to a pathogen is followed by an adaptive immune response that is activated only after the body is exposed to the pathogen for the first time and which is specific to that one pathogen. In addition, alcohol significantly inhibits PMN phagocytic activity as well as the production or activity of several molecules (e.g., superoxide or elastase) that are involved in the PMNs’ bactericidal activity (Stoltz et al. 1999), so that overall bactericidal activity ultimately is reduced. The innate immune response orchestrated by all these components provides the first line of defense against invading pathogens and plays a key role in the activation and orientation of adaptive immunity, as well as in the maintenance of tissue integrity and repair.
T cells expressing the CD8 T cell co-receptor are known as cytotoxic T cells and eliminate host cells infected with intracellular pathogens as well as tumor cells. B cells mature into plasma cells that produce antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins (Ig), to eliminate extracellular microorganisms and prevent the spread of infection. The adaptive immune response can be distinguished from innate immunity by the capability of generating immunological memory, or protective immunity against recurring disease caused by the same pathogen (Janeway 2008). Alcohol abuse has an adverse effect on hematopoiesis and can cause leukopenia, granulocytopenia, and thrombocytopenia in humans (Latvala et al. 2004).
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