Research report
Effect of serotonin on cytokine mRNA expression in rat hippocampal astrocytes

https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-328X(95)00324-LGet rights and content

Abstract

Serotonin is a widely distributed neurotransmitter which elicits a range of central activities. We examined the effect of serotonin on cytokine mRNA expression by rat hippocampal astrocytes in primary cultures. Semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis shows that interleukin-6 (IL6) mRNA is expressed after 10−12 M serotonin stimulation whereas transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) and tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) are induced by 10−10 M serotonin. These inductions appeared after 1 h stimulation for IL6 and TNFα, whereas that of TGFβ appeared after 4 h. The present results provide the first evidence that serotonin can influence astrocyte cytokine production, and thus this neurotransmitter may be considered a potential neuroimmunomodulator.

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