Alcohol, HMGB1, and Innate Immune Signaling in the Brain

Fulton T. Crews, Leon G. Coleman Jr., Victoria A. Macht, Ryan P. Vetreno

Alcohol consumption, and particularly binge drinking (defined in this review as consumption of about 4-5 drinks within 2 hours to reach a blood ethanol concentration of 80 mg/dL), has myriad effects throughout the body. For example, it initiates immune signaling and pro-inflammatory reactions in the brain that may contribute to development of alcohol use disorder (AUD).

As reviewed in this article, inflammation-promoting high mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1) and molecules it interacts with are central to some of these reactions. Greater understanding of HMGB1-related processes may help find ways to reverse some alcohol-related pathology and identify new therapeutic targets and treatment approaches for AUD.

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