Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39951039›Full record

ArticleJournal of neuroimmune pharmacology : the official journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology2025

Pharmacological Depletion of Microglia Protects Against Alcohol-Induced Corticolimbic Neurodegeneration During Intoxication in Male Rats.

Erika R Carlson, Jennifer K Melbourne, Kimberly Nixon

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of neuroimmune pharmacology : the official journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Erika R Carlson *College of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmacology & Toxicology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6638-6378
Jennifer K Melbourne *College of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmacology & Toxicology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
Kimberly NixonCollege of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmacology & Toxicology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA. Kim.nixon@austin.utexas.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-3466-9912

Funding

Neurochemical & Behavioral Correlates of ETOH EffectsT32AA007471 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AUSTIN · PI Kimberly Nixon · 1987 to 2026
$9.2M
Microglia and Adolescent Susceptibility to Developing an Alcohol Use DisorderR01AA025591 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · PI NIXON, KIMBERLY · 2017 to 2021
$2.1M
The Role of Microglia in Adolescent Ethanol-Induced Corticolimbic DamageF32AA029928 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · PI MELBOURNE, JENNIFER KATE · 2021 to 2023
$90k
NIAAA NIH HHS F32 AA029928NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA025591NIAAA NIH HHS T32 AA007471NIH HHS F32AA029928NIH HHS R01AA025591NIH HHS T32AA007471
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Excessive alcohol use damages the brain, especially corticolimbic regions such as the hippocampus and rhinal cortices, leading to learning and memory problems. While neuroimmune reactivity is hypothesized to underly alcohol-induced damage, direct evidence of the causal role of microglia, brain-resident immune cells, in this process is lacking. Here, we depleted microglia using PLX5622 (PLX), a CSF1R inhibitor commonly used in mice, but rarely in rats, and assessed cell death following binge-like alcohol exposure in male rats. Eleven days of PLX treatment depleted microglia > 90%. Further, PLX treatment prevented alcohol-induced neuronal death in the hippocampus and rhinal cortices, as the number of FluoroJade-B-positive cells (dying neurons) was reduced to control diet levels. This study provides direct evidence that alcohol-induced microglial reactivity is neurotoxic in male rats. Improved understanding of alcohol-microglia interactions is essential for developing therapeutics that suppress pro-cytotoxic and/or amplify protective microglia activity to relieve alcohol-related damage.

Indexed as

Alcoholic IntoxicationCerebral CortexEthanolLimbic SystemMicrogliaNeurodegenerative DiseasesAnimalsMaleOrganic ChemicalsRatsEthanolOrganic ChemicalsPLX5622Alcohol use disorderEthanolHippocampusMicrogliaNeurodegeneration

Identifiers

PMID39951039
PMCPMC12995071

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.