Fetal alcohol syndrome is a disease with dramatic teratogenic effects on developing cerebella. Through the use of primary cell cultures and in vivo mouse models I will study the neuroprotective effect of the cytokine, tumor necrosis factor alpha, against alcohol induced toxicity. Research will be accomplished by 1) determining and characterizing the in vitro protective effects of the tumor necrosis factor, and 2) examining the vulnerability to ethanol of mice who are deficient in this protein.
