Stress downregulates lipopolysaccharide-induced expression of proinflammatory cytokines in the spleen, pituitary, and brain of mice

Mice injected with LPS (10 mu g/mouse, sc) or saline were submitted to a 15-min restraint stress and sacrificed 1 or 2 h later to assess the effect of stress on the induction of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and other proinflammatory cytokines (LL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, IL,-1 beta, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha) in the spleen, pituitary, hypothalamus, hippocampus, and striatum. LPS-induced cytokine gene expression, as determined by comparative RT-PCR, was lower in stressed than in nonstressed mice. LPS increased plasma and tissue levels of IL-1 beta, as determined by ELISA, but this effect was less marked in stressed than in nonstressed mice. These results are discussed in relation to the modulatory effects of glucocorticoids on cytokine production. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.