Skip Navigation

Publication Detail

Title: Effects of acute and repeated administration of Staphylococcal enterotoxin A on Morris water maze learning, corticosterone and hippocampal IL-1* and TNF*.

Authors: Woodruff, Randall T; Schorpp, Kristen M; Lawrenczyk, Agniesczka J; Chakraborty, Trisha; Kusnecov, Alexander W

Published In Brain Behav Immun, (2011 Jul)

Abstract: Staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) is a bacterial superantigen that induces pronounced T cell expansion and cytokine production. In addition, SEA activates the HPA axis and forebrain regions relevant to cognitive functions. Since learning-related cognitive changes have not been assessed in response to SEA, spatial learning in the Morris water maze (MWM) was determined in male C57BL/6J mice subjected to acute or repeated injections of 5*g SEA or Saline. Injections were given 2h prior to 4-5days of hidden platform sessions. Animals were then rested for 1month and given retraining without further injections. In addition, splenic IL-1*, IL-2 and TNF*, plasma corticosterone, and hippocampal IL-1* and TNF* were measured after the regimen of treatment used in the behavioral experiments. The results showed no learning impairment following acute or repeated SEA challenge. Moreover, when retested 1month later, and without further injections, the SEA group showed more rapid relearning of the MWM. This suggested that coincidental superantigenic T cell activation and training served to promote long-term improvement in recovery of learning. Furthermore, repeated SEA challenge continued to drive increases in plasma corticosterone, but with a compensatory reduction in hippocampal IL-1*. However, while hippocampal TNF* was reduced after acute and repeated SEA treatment, this was not statistically significant. In view of the importance of modest glucocorticoid elevations and hippocampal IL-1* in promoting contextual learning, the data point to the hypothesis that SEA promotes long-term plasticity by restraining disruptive increases in hippocampal IL-1*, and possibly TNF*, during learning.

PubMed ID: 20946950 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Animals; Corticosterone/blood*; Enterotoxins/administration & dosage; Enterotoxins/pharmacology*; Hippocampus/chemistry*; Hippocampus/drug effects; Interleukin-1beta/analysis*; Interleukin-2/analysis; Lymphocyte Activation/drug effects; Male; Maze Learning/drug effects*; Maze Learning/physiology; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Radioimmunoassay; Spleen/chemistry; Time Factors; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/analysis*

Back
to Top