Alcohol Consumption and Autoimmune Diseases

Abstract

Alcohol is the second-most misused substance after tobacco. It has been identified as a causal factor in more than 200 diseases and 5.3% of all deaths and is associated with significant behavioral, social, and economic difficulties. As alcohol consumption may modulate the immune system's regulatory mechanisms to avoid attacking the body's tissues, it has been proven to play a dichotomic role in autoimmune diseases (ADs) based on the quantity of consumption. In this review, we report updated evidence on the role of alcohol in ADs, with a focus on alcohol addiction and the human biological immune system and the relationship between them, with alcohol as a risk or protective factor. Then, in this narrative review, we report the main evidence on the most studied ADs where alcohol represents a key modulator, including autoimmune thyroiditis, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, diabetes, allergic rhinitis, and primary biliary cholangitis. Alcohol at low-moderate dosages seems mostly to have a protective role in these diseases, while at higher dosages, the collateral risks surpass possible benefits. The specific mechanisms by which low-to-moderate alcohol intake relieves AD symptoms are not yet fully understood; however, emerging studies suggest that alcohol may have a systemic immunomodulatory effect, potentially altering the balance of anti-inflammatory innate and adaptive immune cells, as well as cytokines (via the NF-κB or NLRP3 pathways). It might influence the composition of the gut microbiome (increasing amounts of beneficial gut microbes) and the production of their fatty acid metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), as well as elevated concentrations of acetate, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and nitric oxide (NO). Unfortunately, a definite acceptable daily intake (ADI) of ethanol is complicated to establish because of the many mechanisms associated with alcohol consumption such that despite the interesting content of these findings, there is a limit to their applicability and risks should be weighed in cases of alcoholic drinking recommendations. The aim of future studies should be to modulate those beneficial pathways involved in the alcohol-protective role of ADs with various strategies to avoid the risks associated with alcohol intake.

Keywords: alcohol; autoimmunity; immune system; inflammation; metabolism.

Figure 1

Immune system schematic process. Alcohol modulates immune responses in a dose-dependent way, showing differences when comparing heavy alcohol drinkers (black arrow) and moderate alcohol drinkers. Regarding innate immunity, heavy alcohol intake may increase inflammation, oxidative stress, and the risk of bacterial and viral infection, while moderate drinking supports the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, TGF-β) and modulates the intestinal microbiota, reducing inflammation. Effects of alcohol consumption on adaptive immunity responses include impairment of T-cell and B-cell maturation, dysfunction (increased T-cell activation for cell death, increased B-cell production of IgM and IgA) and altered survival (reduced CD4 T cells, increased CD8 and T-memory cells). Further details on the effect of alcohol intake on immune responses are reported in Figure 2 and Table 1. Parts of the figure were drawn by using pictures from Servier Medical Art and Microsoft PowerPoint 365 Version 2112 (https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365). Servier Medical Art by Servier is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

Figure 2

Harmful and protective role of alcohol in immune diseases. Parts of the figure were drawn by using pictures from Servier Medical Art and Microsoft PowerPoint 365 Version 2112 (https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365).