Effects of ethanol in vitro on some parameters of the immune response

The action of ethanol (ETH) on murine lymphocyte subpopulations and on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) stimulated in vitro by mitogens was studied. ETH caused a concentration-dependent decrease in DNA synthesis in the different murine cell types. ETH was more immunosuppressive for T lymphocytes than for B lymphocytes. An enhancement of the blastogenic response was observed for B cells at 0.5% ETH. Interleukin 2 synthesis by murine splenocytes was inhibited by ETH in a concentration-related manner; the lowest concentrations of ETH caused an increase in interleukin 2 synthesis. The highest concentrations of ETH tested decreased the size of the cell clusters formed in cultures of mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes, whereas an increase in PBMC cluster size was observed in the presence of 0.5 and 1% ETH.