Microglia alter autonomic nucleus neuronal activation after peripheral cytokine challenge

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) coordinates the body's response to stress. Proinflammatory cytokines [e.g., tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα)], released in response to different stressors, may influence underlying pathophysiology involving autonomic dysfunction. The present study evaluated the impact of peripheral TNFα on cellular activation in brain stem nuclei associated with autonomic function, including the dorsal vagal complex (DVC) and the ventral lateral medulla (VLM). Mice received a single intraperitoneal injection of TNFα and were processed 2 h later to identify immunoreactive c-Fos in brain stem nuclei as a measure of cellular activity. The number of c-Fos-immunoreactive cells increased after TNFα challenge within the DVC and VLM. Cells immunoreactive for c-Fos were concentrated lateral to the area postrema (AP), a circumventricular organ medial to the subdivision of the caudal portion of the nucleus of the solitary tract (cNTS) within the DVC. To examine the role of microglia in mediating cellular responses to peripheral TNFα, minocycline was administered into the fourth ventricle to decrease microglial function. Minocycline treatment reduced ionized calcium binding adapter molecule 1 (IBA-1) immunoreactivity in the AP and cNTS. When animals were challenged with TNFα after receiving minocycline, fewer c-Fos-positive cells were induced in the DVC and selectively in the rostral VLM. These findings highlight the spatial selectivity of cells in the brain stem to increased peripheral proinflammatory signaling, as well as the impact of resident microglia on autonomic circuitry responses.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study investigates how peripheral tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) affects neuronal activity in autonomic nuclei of the brain stem and how microglia contribute to this response. Peripheral TNFα increased neuronal activation (c-Fos expression) in the dorsal vagal complex (DVC) and ventrolateral medulla (VLM), particularly near the area postrema. Inhibiting microglia with intracerebroventricular minocycline reduced both microglial markers and TNFα-induced neuronal activity, suggesting that microglia play a key role in modulating cytokine-driven autonomic signaling in the brain stem.