Impact of Binge Alcohol Intoxication on the Humoral Immune Response during Burkholderia spp. Infections

, the causative agent of melioidosis can occur in healthy humans, yet binge alcohol use is progressively being recognized as a major risk factor. Currently, no experimental studies have investigated the effects of binge alcohol on the adaptive immune system during an active infection. In this study, we used and to investigate the impact of a single binge alcohol episode on the humoral response during infection. Eight-week-old female C57BL/6 mice were administered alcohol comparable to human binge drinking (4.4 g/kg) or PBS intraperitoneally 30 min before intranasal infection. Mice infected with had a 100% survival rate, while those infected with had a 33% survivability rate when a binge alcohol dose was administered. was detected in blood of mice administered alcohol at only 7 days post infection (PI), while those infected with and receiving alcohol were found throughout the 28-day infection as well as in tissues at day 28 PI. Binge alcohol elevated IgM and delayed IgG specific to the whole cell lysate (WCL) of but not infections. Differences in immunogenicity of near-neighbors provide a framework for novel insights into the effects of binge alcohol's suppression of the humoral immune response that can cause opportunistic infections in otherwise healthy hosts.