Search

Increasing evidence indicates that stress potentiates pro-inflammatory response to a subsequent peripheral immune challenge. The present study investigated if prior exposure to inescapable tailshock (IS) delayed the recovery of surgery-induced spatial learning and memory impairment and prolonged hippocampus interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 expression. Methods A total of 192 aged rats were trained with Morris water-maze (MWM) for 6 consecutive days. A single session of inescapable tailshock was performed on day 6 after training. Then, the rats subjected to partial hepatectomy. Hippocampal-dependent spatial learning and memory were assessed on postoperative days 1, 3 and 7. The cytokines IL-1β and IL-6 and ionized calcium binding adaptor protein (Iba)-1 were measured at each time point. Cluster of differentiation 200 (CD200) was also measured to explore potential mechanisms of glial cell activation. Results Exposure of IS alone failed to affect the latency to platform and increase hippocampal cytokine levels at each time point. However, IS alone significantly increased the expression levels of Iba-1. A prolonged latency and additional significant increase in hippocampal levels of IL-1β and IL-6 were observed when partial hepatectomy was performed in aged rats exposed to IS 24 h later. The combination of IS and surgical trauma dramatically upregulated the levels of Iba-1 and significantly decreased the expression of CD200. Conclusion IS alone failed to induce cognitive deficits and increase pro-inflammatory cytokines expression. However, IS delayed the recovery of surgery-induced spatial learning and memory impairment and prolonged pro-inflammatory response to the subsequent surgery challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Stressors that are controllable not only protect an individual from the acute consequences of the stressor, but also the consequences of stressors that occur later. This phenomenon, termed “behavioral immunization”, is studied in the rat by first administering tailshocks each of which can be terminated (escapable tailshock) by an instrumental wheel-turn response prior to exposure to a second stressor. Previous research has shown that exposure to escapable tailshock blocks the neurochemical and behavioral consequences of later inescapable tailshock or social defeat stress. Here we explored the generality of behavioral immunization by examining the impact of prior escapable tailshock on the behavioral consequences of cold swim stress. Exposure to a 5min cold-water (19°C) swim caused an anxiety-like reduction in social interaction that was dependent upon 5-HT2C receptor activation. Rats with prior exposure to escapable tailshock did not develop the swim-induced anxiety. Plasticity in the medial prefrontal cortex, a hypothetical neural mechanism underlying behavioral immunization, is discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]