Interleukin-1 beta stimulates adrenocorticotropin and corticosterone release in 10-day-old rat pups.
Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a cytokine secreted in response to immunological challenge which has effects in many physiological systems in adult models. Among the central nervous system effects of IL-1 are its ability to alter sleep patterns, body temperature, and certain neuroendocrine parameters including the release of ACTH and corticosterone (B) in vivo. This study investigated the ability of IL-1 to induce ACTH and B release in 10-day-old rats. This age was chosen due to a well documented phenomenon, the stress hyporesponsive period (SHRP), in which rodents display a blunted pituitary-adrenal response to stressors during the first 2 postnatal weeks (postnatal days 3-14). Administration of IL-1 to rat pups during the SHRP resulted in robust ACTH and B increases. Data are discussed in terms of the site of action and ontogeny of negative feedback mechanisms in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa.
M P
MP
O'Grady
N R
NR
Hall
R A
RA
Menzies
D000302:Adrenal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects*; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000187:drug effects; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000187:drug effects; D011598:Psychoneuroimmunology; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology
D007375:Interleukin-1; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D003345:Corticosterone