THE ROLE OF IMMUNE RESPONSES IN ALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE

描述（由申请人提供）：研究表明，饮酒与传染性病原体免疫反应的抑制有关。免疫反应，特别是细胞介导的免疫反应的抑制，导致对包括嗜肝细菌和病毒在内的感染性病原体的易感性增加。在我的实验室所做的研究表明，无论是患有利伯德卡利还是患有更慢性的ETOH水方案的小鼠饮酒，都会导致无法控制小鼠巨细胞病毒（MCMV）的感染，从而导致长期的肝脏感染和肝炎。饮酒也与对病毒的先天反应的改变有关（例如，IL-12和ifn - γ的产生减少）。在本应用中要解决的假设是，小鼠长期饮酒会影响感染早期和肝脏中对嗜肝病毒的先天和获得性免疫反应的诱导，最终导致饮酒小鼠的肝脏感染更严重、更持久。肝脏中病毒数量的增加导致肝脏中NK细胞和CD8+ T细胞的长期（慢性）积累，从而介导肝损伤的延长。还有一种假设是，小鼠慢性饮酒相关的CD8+ T细胞的非特异性激活导致肝脏中活化CD8+ T细胞的积累，介导肝细胞杀伤。解决这些假设的机械研究将通过解决以下具体目标来完成：1。目的：确定饮用水中乙醇饮酒对病毒抗原特异性CD8+ T细胞产生和抗原特异性CD8+ T细胞向肝脏运输的影响。2. 通过接种含有主要和次要I类mhc限制性表位的DNA疫苗诱导CD8+ T细胞和完整病毒疫苗诱导抗体应答，确定慢性饮酒对诱导MCMV细胞和体液免疫应答的影响。3. 确定酒精摄入对MCMV先天反应的影响，从而影响抗原特异性CD8+T细胞的产生。4. 目的探讨NK细胞在酒精喂养小鼠MCMV感染相关肝炎中的作用。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Studies have shown that alcohol consumption is associated with a suppression of immune responses to infectious agents. The suppression of immune responses, especially cell-mediated immune responses, results in an increased susceptibility to infectious agents including hepatotropic bacteria and viruses. Studies done in my laboratory have shown that alcohol consumption by mice either with the Lieber DeCarli or with a more chronic ETOH in water protocol results in an inability to control the infection by murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) that results in a prolonged liver infection and hepatitis. Alcohol consumption was also associated with alterations in innate responses to the virus (e.g., decreased IL-12 and IFN-gamma production). The hypothesis that will be addressed in this application is that chronic alcohol consumption by mice affects the induction of the innate and acquired immune responses to hepatotropic viruses early in the infection and in the liver that ultimately results in a greater and more prolonged hepatic infection in the mice that consume alcohol. This increase in viral numbers in the liver results in a prolonged (chronic) accumulation of NK cells and CD8+ T cells in the liver, which mediate prolonged liver damage. It is also hypothesized that the described nonspecific activation of CD8+ T cells associated with chronic alcohol consumption by mice results in accumulation of activated CD8+ T cells in the liver that mediate hepatocyte killing. Mechanistic studies to address these hypotheses will be done by addressing the following specific aims: 1.To define the effects of alcohol consumption with an ethanol in drinking water protocol on the production of viral antigen-specific CD8+ T cells and traffic of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells to the liver. 2. To define the effects of chronic consumption of alcohol on the induction of cellular and humoral immune responses to MCMV induced by vaccination with DNA vaccines that incorporate major and minor class I MHC-restricted epitopes to induce CD8+ T cells and an intact virus vaccine to induce antibody responses. 3. To define the effects of alcohol consumption on the innate responses to MCMV that would affect the production of antigen-specific CD8+T cells. 4. To define the role of NK cells in the hepatitis associated with MCMV infection of alcohol-fed mice.