In addition to the peripheral and central immune signaling mechanisms of alcohol’s neuroinflammatory effects, genetics may also play a role. For example, polymorphisms of NF-κB, IL-1β, and IL-10 are linked to AUD (Edenberg et al., 2008; Marcos et al., 2008; Pastor et al., 2005a) (Liu et al., 2009; Saiz et al., 2009). Alleles that increase expression of pro-inflammatory TNF-α are linked to alcoholism and ALD (Kebir et al., 2011; Pastor et al., 2005b). PPAR variants are also associated with alcohol dependence and withdrawal severity in humans (Blednov et al., 2014a), and variants of P2X7R are linked to alcoholics with comorbid anxiety and mood disorders (Mantere et al., 2012; Soronen et al., 2011). In addition, PDE4B may be associated with alcohol consumption (Clarke et al., 2017). The association between immune-related genes and alcohol dependence is reviewed further in (Crews, 2012).
