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Electroconvulsive Seizures in Rats and Fractionation of Their Hippocampi to Examine Seizure-induced Changes in Postsynaptic Density Proteins
Published on: August 15, 2017
Chronic treatment with electroconvulsive shock may modulate the immune function of macrophages
Adam Roman1, Dominika Nawrat, Irena Nalepa
1Department of Brain Biochemistry, Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland. roman@if-pan.krakow.pl
Objective:
To determine the effect of single and chronic electroconvulsive shock (ECS) administration on the immunoregulatory functions of macrophages.
Methods:
Male Wistar rats received single or chronic treatment with ECS (150 mA, 50 Hz, 0.5 seconds) delivered through ear clips, once a day for 10 consecutive days, or sham ECS administered likewise. The rats were killed 24 hours after the last treatment, and peritoneal macrophages were cultured in vitro for 3 or 36 hours for a subsequent determination of their metabolic activity. The ability of macrophages to reduce Alamar Blue, 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), and nitrotetrazolium blue chloride and pinocytosis, adherence, and vitality, as well as synthesis of nitric oxide and arginase activity, was assessed.
Results:
We found statistically significant changes in the biological properties of macrophages which occurred after 36 hours of incubation, especially in cultures stimulated with lipopolysaccharide; in contrast, no differences were observed between groups assessed after 3 hours of incubation. Rats receiving chronic 10-fold ECS showed a substantial increase in the metabolic activity of macrophages, reflected as their ability to reduce Alamar Blue and MTT and to increase arginase activity, accompanied with a marked but statistically insignificant decrease in nitric oxide synthesis compared with respective controls.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that chronic treatment with ECS may induce long-lasting changes in the activity of peritoneal macrophages. Attenuation of their proinflammatory properties indicates that ECS can change the primarily immunoregulatory functions of macrophages.
Insights
Chronic electroconvulsive shock (ECS) treatment significantly alters macrophage function, increasing metabolic activity and arginase, while decreasing proinflammatory responses. This suggests ECS impacts immunoregulatory macrophage properties long-term.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Macrophages play a crucial role in regulating immune responses.
- Electroconvulsive shock (ECS) is a therapeutic intervention with known neurological effects.
- The impact of ECS on macrophage immunoregulatory functions remains incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of single and chronic electroconvulsive shock (ECS) on the immunoregulatory functions of peritoneal macrophages.
- To assess changes in macrophage metabolic activity, nitric oxide synthesis, and arginase activity following ECS treatment.
Main Methods:
- Male Wistar rats were subjected to single or chronic ECS (10 days) or sham treatments.
- Peritoneal macrophages were isolated and cultured for 3 or 36 hours.
- Macrophage metabolic activity (Alamar Blue, MTT reduction), nitric oxide synthesis, and arginase activity were measured.
Main Results:
- Chronic ECS treatment led to significant increases in macrophage metabolic activity and arginase activity after 36 hours of incubation.
- A marked, though not statistically significant, decrease in nitric oxide synthesis was observed in the chronic ECS group.
- No significant differences were found between groups at the 3-hour incubation time point.
Conclusions:
- Chronic ECS administration induces lasting alterations in peritoneal macrophage activity.
- ECS treatment appears to attenuate the proinflammatory properties of macrophages, suggesting a modulation of their immunoregulatory functions.
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