The Effects of White Wine and Ethanol Consumption on the Proliferative Phase of Repair After a Surgically Induced Myocardial Infarction in Rats

<b>Background:</b> Our recent findings, of the highest survival rate of animals that consumed moderate amounts of white wine for four weeks prior to surgically induced myocardial infarction by the ligation of the left anterior descending artery, prompted us to investigate the inflammatory aspects of the post-infarction healing process. In order to examine whether the effects of wine consumption differ from that of ethanol, experimental animals were randomized into three groups: white wine, 13% <i>v</i>/<i>v</i> ethanol/water or water-only controls. <b>Methods:</b> Hearts for immunohistochemical analysis were collected from animals that survived 96 h after infarction, consumed no less than 8 mL of white wine or ethanol/water solution per day and had transmural infarcts of comparable sizes. After accounting for all of the above criteria, the final number of animals was seven per group. Tissue slices were stained with a pan-macrophage marker CD68 and an anti-inflammatory macrophage marker CD163 to investigate macrophage polarization that is crucial for the inflammatory aspects of post-infarction healing. Immunofluorescent imaging was performed on four zones surrounding the infarcted area with detritus: subepicardial, subendocardial and two peri-infarct zones. <b>Results:</b> The largest CD163/CD68 ratios for comparable volumes of alcohol consumption were observed in the wine group in all zones. CD163/CD68 ratios decreased in both the ethanol and wine group as the average amount of alcoholic beverage consumed by the animals increased. <b>Conclusions:</b> Our results indicate that non-alcoholic constituents of white wine contribute to its superior effects in the favorable modulation of post-infarction inflammation and healing processes relative to that of ethanol alone.