Hippocampal AgNOR activity after chronic alcohol consumption and alcohol deprivation in rats

Chronic alcohol consumption induces morphological changes in the central nervous system and withdrawal does not reverse these changes. It is well known that the hippocampal formation is one of the brain regions most sensitive to prolonged alcohol ingestion. The aim of our study was to evaluate the transcriptional neuronal activity by measuring the argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) in the dentate gyrus, CA3, and CA1 hippocampal areas from adult male rats receiving chronic administration of ethanol (ALC) and after withdrawal (WDL). The parameters evaluated were the number and area of AgNORs, together with the area of nucleus and the proportion between AgNOR and nuclear areas (ratio). The animals from ALC and WDL groups showed a reduction in the number of AgNOR per cell as compared to the control group. CA3 was the hippocampal area most affected by chronic alcohol intake. No improvement was observed in animals after withdrawal. Our data support the idea that the chronic intake of alcohol decreases protein synthesis in hippocampal neurons at an early age. This decrease may explain the memory impairment showed by rats receiving chronic treatment with alcohol because, both in humans and rats, it is associated with a reduction in the number of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain that would in turn affect the hippocampal function.