Effects of neonatal inflammation on the inflammatory and oxidative profile during experimental sepsis in adult life

Early-life inflammation increases ethanol consumption in adolescent male mice

Recent studies have demonstrated that stress during the critical windows of development can evoke a cascade of neurological changes that can result in neuropsychiatric disorders later in life. In this study, we examined the effect of early-life inflammation on ethanol consumption in adolescent mice. C57BL/6J mice were assigned to either the control or Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) group on postnatal day 14 (P14). In the latter group, LPS at a dose of 50 μg/kg was injected intraperitoneally. The mice were weaned at P21, and behavior tests were performed at P45. Ethanol consumption was assessed using a two-bottle choice drinking paradigm. Anxiety-like behaviors were assessed by marble burying test (MBT), open field (OF), and elevated plus maze (EPM). Ethanol-induced loss of righting reflex (LORR), hypothermia and ethanol metabolism were assessed to evaluate ethanol intoxication. P14 LPS-injected adolescent male mice exhibited significantly increased ethanol preference and consumption, with a similar taste preference for saccharin and avoidance of quinine. The adolescent male mice showed increased anxiety-like behaviors in the OF and EPM tests, and an increased duration of LORR, without affecting the hypothermic effects of ethanol and ethanol metabolism. Interestingly, these behavioral changes were not obvious in female mice. In conclusion, our data indicate that early-life inflammation may be a risk factor for ethanol consumption in adolescents with greater changes observed in male mice. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Our study is the first preclinical model to report the enhancement effect of early-life inflammation on ethanol consumption in adolescent male mice and our findings provide a valuable mouse model to examine the neurobiological mechanisms mediating the long-lasting effects of early-life inflammation on alcohol use disorders vulnerability.

Depression Is Associated with Downregulation of IPS-1 in Chronic HBV-Infected Patients in a Sex-Dependent Manner

BACKGROUND

Depression and anxiety can modulate immune-related molecule expressions. The chronic HBV-infected (CHB) patients suffer from inappropriate immune responses. Additionally, psychological disorders are prevalent among the patients. Thus, depression and anxiety may alter immune-related molecule expression. This study aimed to examine IPS-1 and RIP1 mRNA levels in CHB patients suffering from various degrees of anxiety and depression.

METHODS

Sixty patients with CHB participated in this research and completed standard questionnaires to evaluate depression and anxiety. The expression levels of IPS-1 and RIP1 were examined using real-time PCR techniques.

RESULTS

The result revealed that although the expression of IPS-1 and RIP1 did not change in the CHB patients with various ranges of depression and anxiety, IPS-1 was significantly decreased in the male CHB patients who suffered from mild, moderate, and severe depression when compared to the patients with no depression.

CONCLUSION

So, it was hypothesized that depression may be associated with alteration in the expression of IPS-1 in a sex-dependent manner. In other words, it appears that the male CHB patients are at risk of depression-related alteration in immune-related gene expression.

Angiotensin II AT2 Receptors Contribute to Regulate the Sympathoadrenal and Hormonal Reaction to Stress Stimuli

Angiotensin II, through AT1 receptor stimulation, mediates multiple cardiovascular, metabolic, and behavioral functions including the response to stressors. Conversely, the function of Angiotensin II AT2 receptors has not been totally clarified. In adult rodents, AT2 receptor distribution is very limited but it is particularly high in the adrenal medulla. Recent results strongly indicate that AT2 receptors contribute to the regulation of the response to stress stimuli. This occurs in association with AT1 receptors, both receptor types reciprocally influencing their expression and therefore their function. AT2 receptors appear to influence the response to many types of stressors and in all components of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The molecular mechanisms involved in AT2 receptor activation, the complex interactions with AT1 receptors, and additional factors participating in the control of AT2 receptor regulation and activity in response to stressors are only partially understood. Further research is necessary to close this knowledge gap and to clarify whether AT2 receptor activation may carry the potential of a major translational advance.

Neonatal microglia: The cornerstone of brain fate

Microglia, mainly known for their role in innate immunity and modulation of neuroinflammation, play an active role in central nervous system development and homeostasis. Depending on the context and environmental stimuli, microglia adopt a broad spectrum of activation status from pro-inflammatory, associated with neurotoxicity, to anti-inflammatory linked to neuroprotection. Pro-inflammatory microglial activation is a key hallmark of white matter injury in preterm infants and is involved in developmental origin of adult neurological diseases. Characterization of neonatal microglia function in brain development and inflammation has allowed the investigation of promising therapeutic targets with potential long-lasting neuroprotective effects. True prevention of neuro-degenerative diseases might eventually occur as early as the perinatal period.

LPS-induced neonatal stress in mice affects the response profile to an inflammatory stimulus in an age and sex-dependent manner

The aim of this study is to evaluate the response to an inflammatory stimulus in mice exposed to LPS-induced neonatal stress at different ages and sexes. Balb/c mice were submitted to intraperitoneal injections on postnatal days 3 and 10 with lipopolysaccharide (nLPS) or saline solution (nSal). At 21 or 60 days, either saline solution was injected or an inflammatory stimulus was induced by the injection of 1% carrageenan. Inflammatory cytokines, reactive oxygen species, and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) production were measured in peritoneal fluid. LPS-induced neonatal stress can reduce inflammatory cytokines in males and females. An increase in NETs production was observed when 60 day nLPS animals were compared to 21 day mice in both sexes. The ROS production was not affected by neonatal stress. The results shown here indicate that LPS-induced neonatal stress can alter cytokine production in response to inflammatory stimuli at different ages, in a sex-dependent effect. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 58: 600-613, 2016.