Alcohol and inflammatory responses: Highlights of the 2015 Alcohol and Immunology Research Interest Group (AIRIG) meeting

• Effects of alcohol on respiratory syndromes.
• Lung repair mechanisms following alcohol intoxication.
• Immunosuppression as a result of alcohol exposure increasing susceptibility to infection.
• Neuroinflammatory responses following alcohol exposure.

On September 27, 2015 the 20th annual Alcohol and Immunology Research Interest Group (AIRIG) meeting was held as a satellite symposium at the annual meeting of the Society for Leukocyte Biology in Raleigh, NC. The 2015 meeting focused broadly on adverse effects of alcohol and alcohol-use disorders in multiple organ systems. Divided into two plenary sessions, AIRIG opened with the topic of pulmonary inflammation as a result of alcohol consumption, which was followed by alcohol's effect on multiple organs, including the brain and liver. With presentations showing the diverse range of underlying pathology and mechanisms associated with multiple organs as a result of alcohol consumption, AIRIG emphasized the importance of continued alcohol research, as its detrimental consequences are not limited to one or even two organs, but rather extend to the entire host as a whole.