Induction of interleukin-1β and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist mRNA by chronic treatment with various psychotropics in widespread area of rat brain

Abstract We investigated whether psychotropics orally administered to rats affect levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) mRNA in the hypothalamus, hippocampus, frontal cortex, and brain stem, using a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction method. The psychotropics tested were chlorpromazine, haloperidol, imipramine, maprotiline, fluvoxamine, and diazepam. Treatment for 28 days raised the levels of both mRNAs. The increase in IL-1Ra mRNA was 6–112 times larger than that of IL-1β mRNA in most brain regions examined. These results suggest that chronic treatment with psychotropics causes greater amplifying effects on IL-1Ra mRNA than IL-1β mRNA in the brain.