Alcohol consumption has different influences on arterial disease, being protective or harmful depending on the amount and pattern of consumption. The mechanisms mediating these biphasic effects are unknown. Endothelial cells line our blood vessels and regulate the exchanges between our blood stream and surrounding tissue. They play a critical role in maintaining arterial health. This @DCU research collaboration compared the effects of moderate and high alcohol concentrations on endothelial cell function.

Alcohol has biphasic effects on several endothelial functions such that a moderate level maintains the endothelium in a non activated state, whereas high-level ethanol causes endothelial dysfunction. These data show the importance of dose when considering ethanol's effects on arterial endothelium, and could explain, in part, the non-linear relationship between alcohol concentration and atherosclerosis reported in some epidemiologic studies.