ArticleNeuropharmacology2022
Circulating corticosterone levels mediate the relationship between acute ethanol intoxication and markers of NF-κB activation in male rats.
Article in Neuropharmacology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Transcription factors implicated in substance use disorder, from immediate early genes to altered gene expression.Brain research · 2026Review
- Spironolactone Targets Retinoid X Receptor γ to Promote Myelin Sheath Regeneration.Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation · 2025Article
- Cues associated with a single ethanol exposure elicit conditioned corticosterone responses in adolescent male but not female Sprague-Dawley rats.Developmental psychobiology · 2024Article
- Alcohol, HMGB1, and Innate Immune Signaling in the Brain.Alcohol research : current reviews · 2024Review
- A review on the reciprocal interactions between neuroinflammatory processes and substance use and misuse, with a focus on alcohol misuse.The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse · 2023Review
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Binge drinking is a harmful pattern of alcohol use that is associated with a number of serious health problems. Of particular interest are the rapid alterations in neuroimmune gene expression and the concurrent activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation associated with high intensity drinking. Using a rat model of acute binge-like ethanol exposure, the present studies were designed to assess the role of corticosterone (CORT) in ethanol-induced neuroimmune gene expression changes, particularly those associated with the NFκB signaling pathway, including rapid induction of IL-6 and IκBα, and suppression of IL-1β and TNFα gene expression evident after administration of moderate to high doses of ethanol (1.5-3.5 g/kg ip) during intoxication (3 h post-injection). Experiment 1 tested whether inhibition of CORT synthesis with metyrapone and aminoglutethimide (100 mg/kg each, sc) would block ethanol-induced changes in neuroimmune gene expression. Results indicated that rapid alterations in IκBα, IL-1β, and TNFα expression were completely blocked by pretreatment with the glucocorticoid synthesis inhibitors, an effect that was reinstated by co-administration of exogenous CORT (3.75 mg/kg) in Experiment 2. Experiment 3 assessed whether these rapid alterations in neuroimmune gene expression would be evident when rats were challenged with a subthreshold dose of ethanol (1.5 g/kg) in combination with 2.5 mg/kg CORT, which showed limited evidence for additive effects of low-dose CORT combined with a moderate dose of ethanol. Acute inhibition of mineralocorticoid (spironolactone) or glucocorticoid (mifepristone) receptors, alone (Experiment 4) or combined (Experiment 5) had no effect on ethanol-induced changes in neuroimmune gene expression, presumably due to poor CNS penetrance of these drugs. Finally, Experiments 6 and 7 showed that dexamethasone (subcutaneous; a GR agonist) recapitulated effects of ethanol. Overall, we conclude that ethanol-induced CORT synthesis and release is responsible for suppression of IL-1β, TNFα, and induction of IκBα in the hippocampus through GR signaling. Interventions designed to curb these changes may reduce drinking, and subdue detrimental neuroimmune activation induced by ethanol.
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