Berkeley Scientific Journal

Alcoholism is a complex disease that impacts the cnS through tolerance, dependence, brain damage and neurological and cognitive deficits. chronic exposure to ethanol brings neurodegeneration and an increase in the level of an outer mitochondrial membrane protein, called the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor, PBr for short. In this study, western blotting and immunocytochemical methods were used to detect the effects of ethanol and cytokine treatments on astrocytes, astrocytomas, and microglia. Although ethanol seemed to have led to a decrease in PBr in the astrocytes and microglia, it did produce an increase in astrocytomas. Additionally, LPS and cytokine mix seemed to have at least physically altered the appearance of these ethanol-exposed cells.