It is well known that Fetal Alcohol Syndrome children are particularly susceptible to infections during early childhood. The mechanisms by which immunological competence is transmitted from mother to infant and the development of the baby's own immune system represent important areas of interest for the expression of immunity during the neonatal period. The widespread use of medications and the abusive use of ethanol and other drugs have led to considerable concern for the welfare of breast-fed infants from all sectors of society. For lactational immunity, potential mechanisms for detrimental effects of ethanol include changes in the capacity of the maternal immune system to generate immune components, structural alterations in the mammary gland that effect delivery of immune components into milk, and the effects of ethanol present in utero and in milk on the development of the baby's immune system. Using established techniques in our laboratory, continuing assessments, in an animal model and humans, will be made as to the effects that maternal and neonatal alcohol consumption have on: (1) the expression of immunity in the young pup following cessation of lactational influences; (2) the development of the neonatal gastrointestinal lymphoid tissue; (3) the role of NK cells in lactational immune transfer to T. spiralis infection; (4) the effects of immunostimulatory agents on ethanol reduced lactational transfer of immunity to T. spiralis infection; and 5) the effects of alcohol consumption on the modulation of human lactational immune components. An understanding of the immune factors involved in alcohol consuming females, especially those that are potentially passaged to the immunologically immature neonate to help fight initial life threatening diseases, may help to explain the increased risk infants have during early life. In addition, since the infant is also exposed to ethanol (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) in utero and during lactation, an understanding of the consequences of neonatal alcoholism on the development of the baby's own gastrointestinal immune system also will add to our knowledge of this early risk period. Since an increasing number of women abuse drugs and alcohol during pregnancy and alcohol use is known to depress certain immune processes, this research has significant implications in the well- being of infants born to mothers in the high-risk population for AIDS.
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