Microglia activation and cell death in response to diethyl-dithiocarbamate acute administration

An increasing body of evidence suggests a role for activated microglia in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders. Hence, it would be useful to have a better understanding of the significance of microglial activation for neuronal damage. Unfortunately, most models of microglial activation use invasive or long-lasting insults, which make it difficult to evaluate the role played by microglia. We have instead developed a model for microglial activation by using brief exposure to the widely available neurotoxin diethyl-dithiocarbamate (DDTC). Despite evidence for the neurotoxic nature of this substance, microglia involvement has not been hitherto investigated. After acute i.p. administration of DDTC at two different doses, microglia were already activated in selected areas of the rat brain (hippocampal dentate gyrus, entorhinal-pyriform cortex and hypothalamus) after 1 hour, reaching a peak at 3-6 hours and subsided within 6-48 hours, depending on the brain region. Microglia activation was associated with interleukin-1 beta immunopositivity between 3 and 6 hours and with up-regulation of major histocompatibility complex class II expression between 24 and 48 hours. No significant changes in astrocyte immunostaining were detected between 6 hours and 6 days. The TUNEL procedure revealed the death of a limited number of cells in the above-mentioned structures that peaked at 6h and then declined rapidly. Cell death was detected in sites with major, minor, or no microglial activation, indicating that these two events can occur concomitantly or independently. The study shows that the administration of DDTC provides a useful model for studying the implications of region-specific reactivity of microglia and its differential interaction with neuronal damage.