Several hypotheses involving alcohol (ethanol, EtOH)-induced changes in genetic and epigenetic regulation of cells as possible molecular mechanisms of FASDs have been recently advanced (Haycock, 2009; Haycock and Ramsay, 2009; Kleiber et al., 2012; Luo, 2009; Ramsay, 2010; Zeisel, 2011). However, the precise mechanisms by which EtOH alters the transcriptional landscape are still largely unknown. In addition, EtOH dose-dependently influences the molecular, cellular, and physiological regulation of adult stem cells which likely contributes to the deleterious consequences of excessive alcohol consumption in adults (Crews et al., 2003; Crews and Nixon, 2003; Nixon et al., 2010; Roitbak et al., 2011).
