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Allied J Med Res 2017
Volume 1 Issue 2
Herbal Medicine 2017
September 01-02, 2017 London, UK
3
rd
International Conference and Expo on
Herbal & Alternative Medicine
Page 50
The role of pro- and anti-inflammatory
cytokines in stress responses: implications
of new target for antidepressant development
Insop Shim
Kyung Hee University, South Korea
T
he immune system and the central nervous system
(CNS) form a bi-directional communication network
through cytokines which act as signaling molecules of the
immune system as well as producing neuroendocrine,
neuroimmune, and behavioral changes in response to a
variety of stress stimuli. It has been known that activation
of the central innate immune system or exposure to stress
can disrupt balance of anti-/proinflammatory cytokines.
However the mechanism by which these cytokines
regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
is still unclear. To understand the role of cytokines on
stress-induced neuroinflammation, we investigated
the role of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the
modulation of depressive-like behaviors, the hormonal
and neurotransmitter systems in rats. Single exposure of
stress resulted in an increase of corticotrophin-releasing
factor expression in the paraventricular nucleus of the
hypothalamus, adrenocorticotropin hormone and the final
hormone of HPA-axis, corticosterone levels in the serum.
Peripheral and central productions of pro-inflammatory
cytokines, IL-1β and IL 6 were significantly increased
during stress, whereas anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-4
was reduced after stress stimulation.Based on these
animal models, we have screened and evaluated anti-
stress and anti-depressant effect of several herbal
formula such as soyo-san, a traditional medicinal formula,
a mixture of 9 crude drugs including
Paeoliae Radix
Alba, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Phizoma, Angelicae
Gigantis Radix, Poria, Liriopis Tuber, Bupleuri Radix,
Menthae Herba, Glycyrrhizae Radix, Zingiberi Rhizoma
Recens
which have been clinically used for treating mild
depressive disorders. Soyo-san inhibited stress-induced
inflammatory responses, IL-1β production in the brain
as well as effectively reduced behavioral and patho-
physiological depression-like responses. These data
suggest that stress may potentate inflammation through
interaction of cytokines with activation of the HPA axis and
stress-related disorders may be influenced by imbalance
of pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines. In addition, the
immunerestorative compounds such as soyo-san may be
useful as powerful therapeutic candidates for treatment of
stress-related diseases such as depression.
ishim@khu.ac.krAllied J Med Res 2017