INDUCTION OF TUMOR-NECROSIS-FACTOR-ALPHA MESSENGER-RNA IN THE BRAIN AFTER PERIPHERAL ENDOTOXIN TREATMENT - COMPARISON WITH INTERLEUKIN-1 FAMILY AND INTERLEUKIN-6

The constitutive expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) mRNA and its induction (60 min later) by peripheral injection of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (2 mg/kg i.p.) was demonstrated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in the pituitary and hypothalamus but not in the striatum or hippocampus of the rat. The pattern of TNFalpha mRNA induction is different from that observed for mRNAs of IL-1alpha and IL-1beta, IL-1ra and IL-6 respectively. This demonstration of the induction of TNFalpha in the brain may contribute to our understanding of the central effects of TNFalpha in fever and anorexia.