Binge drinking, the most common form of alcohol consumption, is associated with increased mortality and morbidity; yet, its
biological consequences are poorly defined. Previous studies demonstrated that chronic alcohol use results in increased gut permeability and increased serum
endotoxin levels that contribute to many of the
biological effects of chronic alcohol, including
alcoholic liver disease. In this study, we evaluated the effects of acute
binge drinking in healthy adults on serum
endotoxin levels. We found that acute alcohol binge resulted in a rapid increase in serum
endotoxin and 16S
rDNA, a marker of bacterial translocation from the gut. Compared to men, women had higher blood alcohol and circulating
endotoxin levels. In addition, alcohol binge caused a prolonged increase in
acute phase protein levels in the systemic circulation. The
biological significance of the in vivo
endotoxin elevation was underscored by increased levels of inflammatory
cytokines, TNFα and
IL-6, and
chemokine, MCP-1, measured in total blood after in vitro
lipopolysaccharide stimulation. Our findings indicate that even a single alcohol binge results in increased serum
endotoxin levels likely due to translocation of gut bacterial products and disturbs innate immune responses that can contribute to the deleterious effects of
binge drinking.