Open AccessEffects of Adolescent Intermittent Alcohol Exposure on the Expression of Endocannabinoid Signaling-Related Proteins in the Spleen of Young Adult Rats
Author(s) -
Francisco Javier Pavón,
Eva M. Marco,
Margarita González Vázquez,
L. Garrido Sánchez,
Patricia Rivera,
Ana L. Gavito,
Virginia Mela,
Francisco Alén,
Juan Decara,
Juan Suárez,
Elena Giné,
José Antonio López-Moreno,
Julie A. Chowen,
Fernando Rodríguez-de-Fonseca,
Antonia Serrano,
María-Paz Viveros
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0163752
Subject(s) - endocannabinoid system , endocrinology , medicine , cannabinoid receptor , receptor , inflammation , spleen , alcohol , chemokine , monoacylglycerol lipase , biology , chemistry , agonist , biochemistry
Intermittent alcohol exposure is a common pattern of alcohol consumption among adolescents and alcohol is known to modulate the expression of the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is involved in metabolism and inflammation. However, it is unknown whether this pattern may have short-term consequences on the ECS in the spleen. To address this question, we examined the plasma concentrations of metabolic and inflammatory signals and the splenic ECS in early adult rats exposed to alcohol during adolescence. A 4-day drinking in the dark (DID) procedure for 4 weeks was used as a model of intermittent forced-alcohol administration (20%, v/v) in female and male Wistar rats, which were sacrificed 2 weeks after the last DID session. First, there was no liver damage or alterations in plasma metabolic parameters. However, certain plasma inflammatory signals were altered according to sex and alcohol exposition. Whereas fractalkine [chemokine (C-X3-C motif) ligand 1] was only affected by sex with lower concentration in male rats, there was an interaction between sex and alcohol exposure in the TNF-α and interleukin-6 concentrations and only female rats displayed changes. Regarding the mRNA and protein expression of the ECS, the receptors and endocannabinoid-synthesizing enzymes were found to be altered with area-specific expression patterns in the spleen. Overall, whereas the expression of the cannabinoid receptor CB 1 and the nuclear peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor PPARα were lower in alcohol-exposed rats compared to control rats, the CB 2 expression was higher. Additionally, the N-acyl-phosphatidylethanolamine-specific phospholipase D expression was high in female alcohol-exposed rats and low in male alcohol-exposed rats. In conclusion, intermittent alcohol consumption during adolescence may be sufficient to induce short-term changes in the expression of splenic endocannabinoid signaling-related proteins and plasma pro-inflammatory cytokines in young adult rats with a strong sexual dimorphism. The potential impact of these alterations in early adulthood remains to be elucidated.