Background: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a debilitating neurological complication of chronic liver disease. Alcohol is a major etiological factor known to induce liver injury and disease. However, excessive alcohol consumption has been shown to also induce atrophy of the cerebellum and cerebellar degeneration. To date, the role of alcohol in the development of HE remains unclear. Here we examined the effects of constant alcohol consumption on the neurological decline in rats with chronic liver disease induced following bile duct ligation (BDL). Method: 5-week BDL rats and Sham-operated controls (Sham) were used. Starting day 7 after surgery, rats were gavaged twice a day (3 hours apart) with alcohol at a dose of 3g/kg, 5 days per week, for 4 weeks. Motor coordination was assessed using Rotarod every week until week 5. At the end of the model (day 40), anxiety-like behavior was assessed using the open field (OF) and elevated plus maze (EPM). Upon sacrifice, brains were collected, and western blot and immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses were used to investigate the neuronal integrity as well as assess apoptosis and necroptosis pathways in the cerebellum. Results: Alcohol worsened motor coordination performance in weeks 2, 3, 4, and 5 in BDL-alcohol rats (p<0.01 vs respective shams). Anxiety-like behavior significantly increased in BDL-alcohol rats, with an increase in time spent in the closed arms of EPM and a decrease in time spent in the center of the open field (p<0.05 vs respective shams). These impairments were associated with decreased neuronal markers of NeuN and SMI311 (p<0.01 and p<0.05, respectively), increased apoptotic markers of cleaved/pro-Caspase3 and Bax/Bcl2 ratio (p<0.001 and p<0.01 respectively), increased necroptosis markers of pRIP3 and pMLKL (p<0.01 and p<0.001, respectively), decreased total antioxidant capacity (p<0.001) and increased oxidative stress marker of 4-HNE (p<0.05) in the cerebellum of BDL-alcohol rats when compared to respective controls. IHC results confirmed the colocalization of apoptotic marker (cleaved Caspase3) and necroptosis marker (pMLKL) in the granular and Purkinje layer neurons of the cerebellum of BDL-alcohol rats. Conclusion: Constant alcohol consumption exacerbates HE by worsening motor coordination impairment and increasing anxiety in BDL rats. Furthermore, our results show neuronal loss through apoptosis and necroptosis in the cerebellum of BDL-alcohol rats. Additionally, higher levels of oxidative stress marker of 4-HNE and decreased total antioxidant capacity in the cerebellum of BDL-alcohol rats suggest that oxidative stress is the triggering factor of apoptosis and necroptosis pathway leading to neuronal loss/injury. These results demonstrate the adverse effect of constant alcohol consumption on the development of HE and neuronal integrity in chronic liver disease.
