Alcohol consumption by C57BL/6 mice is associated with depletion of lymphoid cells from the gut-associated lymphoid tissues and altered resistance tooral infections with Salmonella typhimurium

Studies were done to test whether ethanol (ETOH) consumption alters resista nce to mucosal and systemic infections by Salmonella typhimurium. S. typhim urium-immune and -nonimmune mice were fed 1 of 3 diets (an ETOH-containing liquid diet, an isocaloric liquid diet equal in volume to that of the ETOH- treated group, or laboratory chow) in a pair-feeding design and were infect ed orally or intravenously with S. typhimurium. The number of bacteria in s pleen and liver and the effect of ETOH feeding and infection on the number of lymphoid cells in the gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT) were determ ined, ETOH feeding resulted in profound loss of GALT lymphoid cells and an increased number of Salmonella organisms in the intestines, liver, and sple en of infected nonimmune, but not of immune, mice. These data show that ETO H consumption in this model impairs host defense mechanisms that control mu cosal infections and inhibits the mechanisms that control levels of bacteri a in the central organs.