Examination of age- and sex-related changes in protein expression within the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex during withdrawal from a subchronic history of binge-drinking in C57BL/6J mice.

INTRODUCTION: Early-onset binge-drinking and biological sex are critical risk factors for the development of cognitive decline and neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRDs). Recently, we demonstrated that a prior history of binge-drinking during adolescence induces what appears to be latent (>6 months post-drinking) changes in the expression of glutamate receptors and neuropathology markers within brain regions governing working and spatial memory, many of which precede the manifestation of overt cognitive anomalies.

METHODS: To determine whether alcohol-induced changes in protein expression manifest within the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex at earlier times post-drinking, we conducted immunoblotting on tissue from mice with a subchronic history of binge-drinking (14 days of 2-h access to 10, 20 and 40% ethanol) during either adolescence or adulthood.

RESULTS: We previously reported that this binge-drinking regimen produces mild, age- and sex-selective, changes in working memory and spatial recall when behavior was assayed starting a 1 or 30 days withdrawal. Here, we provide evidence a subchronic binge-drinking history is sufficient to alter the expression of certain glutamate receptors and ADRD-related proteins during the first few months following drinking cessation. Further, these alcohol-induced protein changes are regionally specific and sex-selective.

DISCUSSION: The present results add to our growing understanding of the long-term consequences of adolescent-onset binge-drinking of potential relevance to understanding individual variability in the cognitive consequences of heavy drinking.