Effect of prior ethanol exposure on poly I:C-induced neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration: Male C57BL/6 mice were treated with water or ethanol (5 g/kg, intragastrically (i.g.), 25% ethanol w/v) daily for 10 days. The average blood alcohol concentration at one hour after the first ethanol treatment and the last ethanol treatment was 291 mg/dl ± 16 (w/v, n = 10) and 301 mg/dl ± 19 (w/v, n = 10), respectively. Twenty-four hours after the last ethanol administration, mice were injected with either saline (control) or poly I:C (250 μg/kg, i.p.) and d-GalN (20 mg/kg, i.p.) in saline. Mice were sacrificed three hours after poly I:C treatment. Gene expression and protein synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines, oxidative enzymes, microglial morphology, and neurodegeneration were examined using real-time PCR, ELISA, and immunohistochemistry.
