Prenatal exposure to ethanol alters the neuroimmune response to a central nervous system wound in the adult rat

We examined the long-term effects of in utero ethanol exposure on the expre ssion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), glial fibrillary acidic p rotein (GFAP), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell ad hesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and ED1 in the tissue at the site of a central nervous system (CNS) wound. Adult rats obtained from dams fed control diets or an ethanol diet were fed either control diets or an ethanol diet 5 days before and after infliction of a CNS wound. In pair-fed controls, the expr ession of TNF-alpha, GFAP, ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and ED l immunoreactive proteins was increased in the tissue at the wound site when compared with that in n onlesioned tissues. In adult rats previously exposed to ethanol in utero an d then fed a liquid diet before and after infliction of a CNS wound, howeve r, expression of TNF-alpha GFAP, and ICAM-1 was markedly decreased when com pared with findings in pair-fed controls. In contrast, VCAM-1 levels and ED 1 immunoreactive proteins were markedly increased when compared with findin gs for pair-fed controls. Furthermore, in adult rats exposed to ethanol in utero, re-exposure to ethanol before and after sustaining a CNS wound resul ted in further decreases in TNF-alpha, GFAP, and ICAM-1 levels and marked i ncreases in VCAM-1 levels and ED1 immunoreactive proteins. Results of these studies suggest to us that prenatal exposure to ethanol has a long-term im munoteratogenic effect in the CNS, resulting in altered responses of key co mponents of the neuroimmune response, which could leave the animal immunoco mpromised as an adult. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.