TABLE 4 –
Effects of Alcohol & Stress on Microglia in Rodents
| Study | Species, Strain | Sex | Alcohol Access | Stressor | Effects on Microglia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernandez-Lizarbe et al., 2009 | Mice (C57BL/6J) | F | 3d 4 g/kg IP | none | Increased microglial activation (CD11b IR) |
| Alfonso-Loeches et al., 2010 | Mice (C57BL/6J) | F | 5mo continuous TBC | none | Increased microglial activation (CD11b IR) |
| McClain et al., 2011 | Rats (Sprague-Dawley) | M | 4d 5 g/kg IG every 8h | none | Increased microglial activation (morphology) |
| Ehrlich et al., 2012 | Rats (Sprague-Dawley) | M | 12mo continuous drinking | none | Increased microglial activation (Iba1 and CD11b IR) |
| Qin & Crews, 2012b | Mice (C57BL/6J) | M | 10d 5 g/kg IG | none | Increased microglial activation (Iba1 IR) |
| Marshall et al., 2013 | Rats (Sprague-Dawley) | M | 4d 5 g/kg IG every 8h | none | Increased microglial number (Iba1+ cells) and activation (TSPO ARG; CD11b IR) |
| Zhao et al., 2013 | Rats (Sprague-Dawley) | M | 25d intermittent IG | none | Increased microglial activation (CD11b IR) |
| Marshall et al., 2016 | Rats (Sprague-Dawley) | M | 4d 5 g/kg IG every 8h Second 4d binge 7d later |
none | Increased microglial activation (CD11b IR); decreased microglial number (Iba1+ cells) Further increase in microglial activation; increased microglial number |
| Avila et al., 2017 | Mice (C57BL/6J) | M | 3w continuous drinking | none | Increased microglial activation (Iba1 IR) |
| Barton et al., 2017 | Rats (Long-Evans) | M/F | 4d 5 g/kg IG | none | Increased microglial number (Iba1+ cells) and activation (morphology) in females only |
| Walter & Crews, 2017 | Mice (C57BL/6J) | M | 3, 4.5, or 6 g/kg IG | none | 4.5 or 6 g/kg increased microglial gene expression (Iba1 and CD68 mRNA) |
| Walter et al., 2017 | Rats (Wistar) | M | 5 g/kg IG 1h before stress 25d intermittent 5 g/kg IG 42d before stress |
2h restraint + partial water immersion | Increased microglial activation (CD11b IR) Increased microglial activation (CD11b IR) |
| Lowe et al., 2020 | Mice (C57BL/6J) | F | 42d continuous drinking | none | Increased microglial activation (morphology) and decreased phagocytic activity (Iba1/CD68 colocalization) |
| Marshall et al., 2020 | Rats (Sprague-Dawley) | M | 2d 5 g/kg oral gavage 4d 5 g/kg oral gavage |
none | Decreased microglial number (Iba1+ cells), increased microglial dystrophy (morphology) Decreased microglial number (Iba1+ cells), increased microglial dystrophy (morphology) |
| Socodato et al., 2020 | Mice, C57BL/6J | M | 10d 1.5 g/kg oral gavage | none | Increased microglial number (Cx3CR1+ cells, Iba1+ cells) and activation (CD11b IR, CD45 IR, morphology, Iba1 PE) |
| Tournier et al., 2020 | Rats (Wistar) | M | 14d intermittent 3 g/kg IP | none | Increased microglial activation (TSPO VT) |
| Warden et al., 2020 | Mice (C57BL/6J) | M | 4w intermittent TBC | none | Increased microglial number (Iba1+ cells) |
| West et al., 2020 | Rats (Long-Evans) | M/F | 3w 4 g/kg IG every 7d 8w 4 g/kg IG every 7d |
none | No changes Increased microglial number (Iba1+ cells) and activation (morphology) |
| Aranda et al., 2021 | Rats (Wistar) | M | 9w intermittent self-administration, 2w abstinence, 3w reinstatement | none | Increased microglial activation (Iba1 IR and morphology) |
| Lee et al., 2021 | Mice (C57BL/6J) | M | 28d continuous TBC | 28d social isolation | Alcohol potentiated stress-induced increases in microglial number (Iba1+ cells) and activation (morphology) |
Abbreviations: ARG: autoradiography; IG: intragastric; IR: immunoreactivity; PE: protein expression; TBC: two-bottle choice; VT: total volume of distribution