Effect of interferon-alpha on tyrosine hydroxylase and catecholamine levels in the brain of rats
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 26, 2026
Environmental Modulations of the Number of Midbrain Dopamine Neurons in Adult Mice
Published on: January 20, 2015
T Kumai1, T Tateishi, M Tanaka
1Department of Pharmacology, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, 2-16-1 Sugao, Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki, 216-8511 Japan. yakuri@marianna-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
We investigated the effect of interferon on tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and catecholamine levels in the brains of 12-week-old male Wistar rats. Interferon-alpha (300,000 IU/kg/day, s.c.) was administered to rats for 7 days. Locomotor activity of interferon-alpha-treated rats was significantly lower than that of control rats. Norepinephrine and dopamine levels and TH activities in the cerebral cortex, hypothalamus and medulla oblongata of interferon-alpha-treated rats were significantly higher than those of control rats. Norepinephrine and dopamine levels and TH activities in the thalamus and hippocampus were not different between interferon-alpha treated and control rats. These results suggest that interferon-alpha-induced depression may be related to change in the catecholamine synthetic pathway in the central nervous system.
