Figure 2.

Comparisons of increased levels of CCL2 in post-mortem human alcoholic brain and mouse brain following chronic ethanol treatment. Shown is data from different studies within our laboratory illustrating increased levels of the chemokine MCP-1 (CCL2) in humans and mice following ethanol exposure. (A) MCP-1 protein levels from human hippocampal homogenate measured using ELISA. Increased MCP-1 levels were also found in ventral tegmental area, substantia nigra, and amygdala (see He and Crews, 2008). (B) Levels of MCP-1 in mouse brain increased following chronic ethanol treatment. Mice (C57Bl/6) treated with 10 daily doses of ethanol (5.0 g/kg. i.g.) and brain MCP-1 levels were determined 24 h after the last ethanol administration (see Qin et al., 2008 for details). These studies indicate that ethanol upregulates the innate immune chemokine MCP-1 in post-mortem human alcoholic and mouse brain samples, which is consistent with ethanol activation of innate immune genes.