Alcohol Exposure and Airway Hyperresponsiveness

Overview

Alcohol has consequences including increased risk for upper respiratory tract infections, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and alcohol-induced asthma. The investigators have established that airways are specifically impacted by alcohol exposure because the airways are heavily exposed to the vapor phase of alcohol during drinking. These preliminary studies demonstrate that brief alcohol administration significantly attenuates airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in a mouse model leading to the hypothesis that alcohol exposure modifies airway hyperresponsiveness through a cAMP/NO- dependent mechanism.

Alcohol has well-established consequences in the lung including increased risk for upper respiratory tract infections, pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). There have even been a few reports of alcohol-induced asthma. Data from the investigators' laboratory have established that the airways are specifically impacted by alcohol exposure. Because the airways are heavily exposed to the vapor phase of alcohol during drinking and airway motor tone is modulated by cAMP, the investigators speculated that airway bronchial motor function would be altered in mice fed alcohol. The investigators' preliminary studies demonstrate that brief alcohol administration significantly attenuates airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in a mouse model. This novel finding has led us to hypothesize that: Alcohol exposure modifies airway hyperresponsiveness through a cAMP/NO- dependent mechanism.

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Outcomes