title: New insights into cytokine gene expression in the rat hypothalamus following endotoxin challenge.
abstract: Peripheral injection of the endotoxin LPS in rats 3 weeks prior to a second injection of LPS derived from another bacterial strain results in elevated corticosterone and decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines in the blood. We further investigated this model by measuring cytokine expression in the hypothalamus and spleen. In LPS-pretreated rats, hypothalamic expression of a range of cytokines was attenuated in response to the second injection of LPS while splenic expression was elevated. This is the first demonstration that prior exposure to an endotoxin can differentially affect cytokine expression in the brain and peripheral tissues when a host is confronted with a second, acute, pro-inflammatory stimulus. Changes in hypothalamic cytokine expression in endotoxin pretreated rats may provide new evidence for the involvement of central cytokine pathways in modulating peripheral inflammation and mediating psychopathological alterations associated with inflammatory diseases.
authors.affiliation: Henry Wellcome Laboratories for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology (LINE), University of Bristol, Dorothy Hodgkin Building, Whitson Street, Bristol, BS1 3NY, UK. David.Jessop@bristol.ac.uk
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Jessop
authors.forename: Hugo O
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Besedovsky
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: del Rey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009928:Organ Specificity; D051381:Rats; D013154:Spleen / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides