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Updated: May 26, 2026
Moderate Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Quantification of Social Behavior in Adult Rats
Published on: December 14, 2014
Prenatal alcohol exposure alters the course and severity of adjuvant-induced arthritis in female rats
Xingqi Zhang1, Ni Lan, Paxton Bach
1Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z3.
Insights
Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) impairs adult immune function, leading to more severe autoimmune responses and heightened inflammation in a rheumatoid arthritis model. This study reveals long-term immune system alterations from PAE.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimmunology
- Developmental toxicology
- Rheumatology
Background:
- Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) negatively impacts the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and immune system development.
- PAE is linked to HPA axis hyper-responsiveness and reduced immune competence.
- The interaction between the HPA axis and immune system is crucial in autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term effects of PAE on immune function in an adult female adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA) model.
- To determine if PAE alters autoimmune responses and arthritis severity.
- To explore the role of HPA axis activity in PAE-induced immune system changes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized an adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA) model in female rodents.
- Assessed immune function, HPA axis activity, and arthritis severity in PAE and control groups.
- Measured lymphocyte proliferation, corticosterone, and adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) levels.
Main Results:
- PAE females exhibited a more prolonged disease course and greater inflammation severity in the AA model.
- PAE was associated with blunted lymphocyte proliferation responses to concanavalin A.
- PAE females showed increased basal ACTH levels during the disease induction phase.
Conclusions:
- PAE adversely affects adult immune status, leading to increased severity of autoimmune disease.
- PAE alters both immune and HPA axis function, suggesting complex interactions.
- These findings highlight the lasting impact of prenatal alcohol exposure on neuroimmune regulation and inflammatory processes.
Abstract:
Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) has adverse effects on the development of numerous physiological systems, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the immune system. HPA hyper-responsiveness and impairments in immune competence have been demonstrated. The present study investigated immune function in PAE females utilizing an adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA) model, widely used as a model of human rheumatoid arthritis. Given the effects of PAE on HPA and immune function, and the known interaction between HPA and immune systems in arthritis, we hypothesized that PAE females would have heightened autoimmune responses, resulting in increased severity of arthritis, compared to controls, and that altered HPA activity might play a role in the immune system changes observed. The data demonstrate, for the first time, an adverse effect of PAE on the course and severity of AA in adulthood, indicating an important long-term alteration in functional immune status. Although overall, across prenatal treatments, adjuvant-injected animals gained less weight, and exhibited decreased thymus and increased adrenal weights, and increased basal levels of corticosterone and adrenocorticotropin, PAE females had a more prolonged course of disease and greater severity of inflammation compared to controls. In addition, PAE females exhibited blunted lymphocyte proliferative responses to concanavalin A and a greater increase in basal ACTH levels compared to controls during the induction phase, before any clinical signs of disease were apparent. These data suggest that prenatal alcohol exposure has both direct and indirect effects on inflammatory processes, altering both immune and HPA function, and likely, the normal interactions between these systems.
