Abstract
Behavioral symptoms of sickness, such as fever and motor activity are a coordinated set of changes that develop during infection. The aim of study was to compare the sickness behaviour (SB) in healthy old and young rats treated with pyrogenic dose of endotoxin and to check their glutathione level. Before experimentation male Wistar rats were selected according to standard body mass, motor activity, and white blood cells count. Intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from E. coli was used to provoke SB. The level of liver glutathione, interleukin (IL) -6, deep body temperature (Tb) and motor activity were measured. Glutathione level in old and young rats did not differ significantly. In both young and old rats LPS administration provoked fever (the mean value of Tb was 38.06 ± 0.01 °C in old rats, and 38.19 ± 0.06 °C in young rats). LPS injection affected night-time activity in both groups (12 h averages were 1.56 ± 0.40 counts in old LPS-treated rats vs 2.74 ± 0.53 counts in not-treated old rats and 3.44 ± 0.60 counts for young LPS-treated vs 4.28 ± 0.57 counts for young not-treated rats). The injection of LPS provoked an elevation of plasma IL-6 concentration (from values below the lowest detectable standard in not-treated groups of animals to 6322.82 ± 537.00 pg/mL in old LPS-treated rats and 7415.62 ± 451.88 pg/mL in young LPS-treated rats). Based on these data, we conclude that good health of aged rats prevents decrease in the glutathione level. Old rats are still able to develop SB in response to pyrogenic dose of LPS, although its components have changed pattern compared to young animals.
Highlights
Sickness behavior (SB) develops in ill individuals during the course of an infection and trauma
Analysis of variance showed that White blood cells (WBC) was age dependent (F(1.14) = 22.20, p \ 0.001) and was affected by LPS administration (F(1.14) = 13.43, p \ 0.001), but there was no interaction between these two factors (F(1.14) = 0.54, p \ 0.006, n.s.)
We demonstrated that physiological rhythm of body temperature and motor activity are decreased in old male rats (Figs. 3, 4, respectively)
Summary
Sickness behavior (SB) develops in ill individuals during the course of an infection and trauma. It is manifested with lethargy, depression, decreased motor activity, anxiety, loss of appetite, sleepiness, hyperalgesia, reduction in grooming, fever or anapyrexia (Kelley et al 2003; Hart 1991; Kozak 1997; Braun and Marks 2010; Mullington et al 2000; Maier et al 1993; Dantzer and Kelley 2007). Sickness behavior reorganizes the organism’s priorities to cope with infectious pathogens (Johnson 2002; Kluger et al 1996), e.g. it has been found that fever creates optimal conditions for the immune processes such as proliferation and differentiation of T cells, secretion of interferons, antibodies, and neutrophil migration (Roberts 1991). There are three major sources of damage within a cell: nutritional glucose, spontaneous errors in biochemical processes and reactive oxygen species (Rattan 2006)
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