Effect of alcohol on spleen cells and their functions in C57BL/6 mice

Spleen cells from C57BL/6 mice maintained on alcohol containing liquid diet for two weeks were evaluated for different immune functions. On an average, 22% fewer spleen cells were recovered from alcohol-fed mice when compared to cells from control animals. In alcohol-fed mice, the relative frequency of B cells increased, whereas total T cells including CD4+ cells decreased significantly. Alcoholic mice, when challenged with poly(rI) poly(rC), produced significantly less interferon than control mice. In vitro production of interferon alpha and gamma by the spleen cells of alcoholic mice was reduced by 67-90%. No significant differences were seen in the level of natural killer cell activity in spleen cells of control and alcoholic mice. These results suggest that chronic alcohol intake can result in not only changes in the number of immune cells, but more importantly affect their biological functions such as their ability to produce interferons.