Acute Alcohol Exposure Impairs Fracture Healing and Deregulates β‐Catenin Signaling in the Fracture Callus

Abstract

Acute alcohol exposure resulted in significant impairment of fracture callus tissue formation, perturbation of the key Wnt pathway protein β-catenin, and disruption of normal Wnt-mediated transcription. These data suggest that the canonical Wnt pathway is a target for alcohol in bone and may partially explain why impaired fracture healing is observed in alcohol-abusing individuals.