Cytokine-induced sickness behaviour: mechanisms and implications
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Updated: Oct 2, 2026

Microfluidic Approach to Resolve Simultaneous and Sequential Cytokine Secretion of Individual Polyfunctional Cells
Published on: March 8, 2024
Jan Pieter Konsman1, Patricia Parnet, Robert Dantzer
1Laboratory of Integrative Neurobiology, INRA-INSERM U 394, Rue Camille Saint-Saens, Bordeaux, France.
Abstract:
Sickness behaviour represents the expression of the adaptive reorganization of the priorities of the host during an infectious episode. This process is triggered by pro-inflammatory cytokines produced by peripheral phagocytic cells in contact with invading micro-organisms. The peripheral immune message is relayed to the brain via a fast neural pathway and a slower humoral pathway, resulting in the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in macrophage-like cells and microglia in the brain. The cellular and molecular components of this previously unsuspected system are being progressively identified. These advances are opening new avenues for understanding brain disorders, including depression.
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