title: Cytokine and endocrine parameters in mouse chronic social defeat: implications for translational 'cross-domain' modeling of stress-related brain disorders.
abstract: Mounting clinical and experimental evidence implicates various cytokines in stress-related affective brain disorders. Here, we analyze behavioral phenotypes in C57BL/6J male mice following the chronic social defeat stress paradigm, and examine their serum cytokines and corticosterone levels. Loser mice experiencing 20 days of daily 15-min social confrontations demonstrate elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin IL-7 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), as well as a trend to increase IL-6 and IL-15. We also found higher levels of an anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in the winner mice, with unaltered serum IL-2, IL-4, IL-1a, MCP-1 and corticosterone levels between the groups. Overall, our results suggest that animal affective-like states correlate with specific cytokine profiles, including some cytokines (e.g., VEGF, IL-7 or IL-15) whose role in neuropsychiatric disorders is only beginning to emerge. This study emphasizes the importance of integrative analyses of neural and immune phenotypes in stress and stress-related neurobehavioral disorders. These findings may also help foster the search for new therapeutic and preventative strategies that target selected cytokines and their signaling pathways.
authors.affiliation: ZENEREI Institute, 309 Palmer Court, Slidell 70458, USA; Neuroscience Program, Tulane University Medical School, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
authors.forename: Adam Michael
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Program, Tulane University Medical School, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
authors.forename: Sudipta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Program, Tulane University Medical School, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Program, Tulane University Medical School, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
authors.forename: Siddharth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gaikwad
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Program, Tulane University Medical School, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
authors.forename: Kyung Min
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: ZENEREI Institute, 309 Palmer Court, Slidell 70458, USA; Neuroscience Program, Tulane University Medical School, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. Electronic address: avkalueff@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Allan V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Kalueff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008959:Models, Neurological; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012919:Social Behavior; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D003345:Corticosterone
keywords: Anxiety; Corticosterone; Cytokine; Mice; Social defeat; Stress