Macrophage related cytokine expressions in depression mouse model induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress

Depression is characterized by mental retardation, interest blank, hypoactivity, anxiety, appetite loss, sexual dysfunction, sleep disorders and other symptoms. The incidence of depressed patients has demonstrated an upward trend in recent years. Antidepressant drugs are commonly used in modern medicine, but they have the side effect of drug resistance. This study aims to explore the effect of acupuncture stimulation on expressions of macrophage-related cytokines in mice with depression induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), and to explore the underlying immunological mechanism. The CUMS model was successfully developed. The secretion of nuclear transcription factor-kB (NF-kB) and interleukin (IL)-8 increased significantly in the modeling group compared with the blank control group (P<0.05). However, no significant difference of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) concentration was found (P>0.05). After acupuncture treatment, the behavior indicator was improved and meanwhile, the levels of TNF-α, NF-κB, IL-8 decreased significantly compared with the sham group (P<0.05). Depression mice were given treatment of acupuncture, and the effect of behavior change was observed and the content of macrophage cytokine production was measured, respectively. These findings suggested that inflammatory cytokines secreted by peritoneal macrophages increased significantly in mild depression mice, which can be improved by stimulation with acupuncture.