title: Chronic administration of infliximab (TNF-α inhibitor) decreases depression and anxiety-like behaviour in rat model of chronic mild stress.
abstract: Pro-inflammatory cytokines have been proposed to be associated with the pathogenesis of depression. Consistent with this notion, several clinical observations have suggested the antidepressant efficacy of TNF-α inhibitors in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases. In this study, we evaluated the antidepressant and anxiolytic effects of chronic TNF-α inhibitor (infliximab, 5 mg/kg, i.p., weekly) administration in the chronic mild stress (CMS) model of depression. Rats were divided into three groups: saline-control (no stress), saline-CMS, and infliximab-CMS. Rats in the latter two groups were exposed to CMS for 8 weeks. Saline (former two groups) or infliximab was injected weekly during this period. After CMS, total locomotor activity, anxiety-like behaviour and depression-like behaviours were evaluated using automated locomotor activity cage, elevated plus maze (EPM), and sucrose preference (SPT) and forced swimming (FS) tests, respectively. As expected, the saline-CMS group exhibited higher depression-like behaviours in FS and SPT tests compared with the saline-control group. There were no differences between these two groups in terms of the anxiety-like behaviour or total locomotor activity. Infliximab reduced the depression-like behaviour of CMS rats compared with saline-CMS group, and anxiety-like behaviour of CMS rats compared with saline-CMS and saline-control groups. Our findings suggest that chronic and systemic TNF-α inhibition reduced depression and anxiety-like behaviour in the CMS model of depression in rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Medical School, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey. karson.ayse@gmail.com
authors.forename: Ayşe
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karson
authors.forename: Tuğçe
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Demirtaş
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bayramgürler
authors.forename: Fuat
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Balci
authors.forename: Tijen
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Utkan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005518:Food Preferences; D000069285:Infliximab; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D013395:Sucrose; D013550:Swimming
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D013395:Sucrose; D000069285:Infliximab