Effects of fluoxetine and pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate on the lipopolysaccharide-induced interleukin 6 release in cultured rat astrocytes

Objective To investigate the effects of fluoxetine and pyrrolidine dithidarbamate(PDTC) on the lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced interleukine-6(IL-6) release in cultured rat astrocytes. Methods The purified astrocytes were cultured in 48-well tissue culture plate and classified into control group, LPS group, fluoxetine group and PDTC group.Control group and LPS group were cultured as usual, and fluoxetine group and PDTC group were cultured with fluoxetine or PDTC at different concentrations for 48 hours, and then LPS group, Fluoxetine group and PDTC group were incubated with 1ug/ml LPS for 24 hours. Finally, the levels of IL-6 in the cell supernatant were detected by enzymatic linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results The level of IL-6 in LPS group ((1975.46±171.54)pg/ml) was significantly higher than that in control group((10633±782.15)pg/ml)(P<0.01). The levels of IL-6 were (6198.6±379.4)pg/ml, (4973.6±132.5)pg/ml and (4747.9±473.9)pg/ml respectively when the concentrations of fluoxetine were 10μΜ, 20μΜ and 40μΜ, and (4821.6±180.8)pg/ml, (4735.7±620.0)pg/ml and (3525.9±240.0)pg/ml respectively when the concentrations of PDTC were 100μΜ, 150μΜ and 200μΜ. There was significant difference in the levels of IL-6 between LPS group and fluoxetine group (P<0.05), as well as between LPS group and fluoxetine group (P<0.05). Conclusion LPS can induce IL-6 release from astrocytes, while fluoxetine or PDTC at some concentrations can suppress LPS-induced IL-6 release. Key words: Fluoxetine; Pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate; Astrocyte; Interleukine-6