In male rats that were administered low acute (0.5g/kg, 5 days) or chronic (0.43g/kg/day, 28 days) doses of ethanol in a liquid diet, results revealed significantly higher T cell responses to Mycobacterium bovis and increased clearance of bacterial pathogens compared to controls. In contrast, a high acute (6g/kg for 5 days) or chronic (12g/kg/day for 28 days) dose of ethanol showed an immunosuppressive effect (Mendenhall, Theus et al. 1997). More recently, moderate daily alcohol consumption for over a year (average BAC 40mg/dL) in a rhesus macaque model of ethanol self-administration enhanced CD4+ and CD8+ T cell as well as IgG responses following Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vaccination, whereas chronic alcohol intoxication in this model (average BAC >80mg/dL) suppressed this response (Messaoudi, Asquith et al. 2013).
