Light alcohol consumption promotes early neurogenesis following ischemic stroke in adult mice

Neurogenesis plays a crucial role in postischemic functional recovery. Alcohol dose-dependently affects the prognosis of ischemic stroke. Researchers investigated the impact of light alcohol consumption (LAC) on neurogenesis under physiological conditions and following ischemic stroke.
Three months old C57BL/6J mice were fed with 0.7 g/kg/day ethanol (designed as LAC) or volume-matched water (designed as control) daily for eight weeks. To evaluate neurogenesis, the numbers of particular neurons were assessed in the subventricular zone, dentate gyrus (DG), ischemic cortex, and ischemic striatum. The neurons assessed were 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU)+/doublecortin (DCX)+ and BrdU+/NeuN+.
Light alcohol consumption significantly increased BrdU+/DCX+ and BrdU+/NeuN+ cells in the subventricular zone under physiological conditions. Ischemic stroke dramatically increased BrdU+/DCX+ and BrdU+/NeuN+ cells in the dentate gyrus, subventricular zone, ischemic cortex, and ischemic striatum. The increase in BrdU+/DCX+ cells was significantly greater in light alcohol consumption mice compared to the control mice. In addition, light alcohol consumption significantly increased BrdU+/NeuN+ cells by about three folds in the dentate gyrus, subventricular zone, and ischemic cortex. Furthermore, light alcohol consumption reduced ischemic brain damage and improved locomotor activity.
Therefore, light alcohol consumption may protect the brain against ischemic stroke by promoting neurogenesis.
Source: Li J, Li C, Subedi P, Tian X, Lu X, Miriyala S, Panchatcharam M, Sun H. Light Alcohol Consumption Promotes Early Neurogenesis Following Ischemic Stroke in Adult C57BL/6J Mice. Biomedicines. 2023 Apr 2;11(4):1074.