Study Links Alcohol Addiction and the Immune System

February 2026

A recent national survey reported that more than 11 percent of males and 7 percent of females ages 12 and older were classified as experiencing alcohol use disorder (AUD). Symptoms of AUD include not stopping or controlling alcohol use despite serious health and relationship consequences.

An interdisciplinary study from BYU recently introduced neuroimmune research into the AUD treatment landscape, looking at immune-cell function relative to dopamine levels. Study coauthors Jeff Edwards, professor of cell biology and physiology, and Scott Weber, professor of microbiology and molecular biology, hope their research will lead to better medical treatments.

For the study, a collaborative team of 13 students and four professors focused on how altering the immune system might reveal some mechanistic clues. To test this, they examined a population of male and female mice in which CD5, a protein found on white blood cells, was genetically disabled.* Researchers then assessed how the CD5 “genetic knockout” influenced alcohol reward, sedation, and consumption.

Professor Weber says, “We found there was less of an alcohol reward in the mice population that had CD5 removed from their immune cells; so eventually they didn’t drink as much. We don’t currently have it all solved, but if we are able to identify the mechanism of how this works, an immunotherapy could be developed down the road that may make it easier for people to break this addictive alcohol cycle.”

One of the student researchers, Andrew Payne, who is now a professor at Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine, recalls his time working on the study as a period of intellectual and spiritual growth that facilitated lasting connections to mentors and peers. He expects the team’s research to help pave the way to alleviate suffering.

“Addiction represents a set of disorders that are remarkably difficult to overcome, and new treatment options are sorely needed,” he explains. “We need as much understanding as we can get of how the brain and the body respond to substances of abuse so that we can inform the next generation of treatment options.”

*All mice were bred, housed, and handled in compliance with the National Institutes of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.