Removal of vasopressin cells from the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus enhances lipopolysaccharide‐induced sickness behaviour in mice

• Published in: Journal of neuroendocrinology Vol. 33; no. 1; pp. e12915 - n/a
• Main Authors: Whylings, Jack, Rigney, Nicole, Vries, Geert J., Petrulis, Aras
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.01.2021
• Subjects: Animals; Anxiety; Behavior; Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Behavior, Animal - physiology; Female; Hedonic response; Hypothalamus; Illness Behavior - drug effects; Illness Behavior - physiology; Injection; Lipopolysaccharides; Lipopolysaccharides - pharmacology; LPS; Male; Males; Mice; Neurons - metabolism; Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus - metabolism; Paraventricular nucleus; Rodents; Sickness behavior; sickness behaviour; Social Behavior; social behaviour; Sucrose; sucrose preference; Vasopressin; Vasopressins - metabolism; sickness behaviour; sucrose preference; LPS; social behaviour; vasopressin; paraventricular nucleus
• ISSN: 0953-8194; 1365-2826; 1365-2826
• DOI: 10.1111/jne.12915

Vasopressin (AVP) cells in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) are activated during sickness and project to multiple nuclei responsible for the anxiety, social and motivated behaviours affected during sickness, suggesting that these cells may play a role in sickness behaviours, typically expressed as reduced mobility, increased anxiety, anhedonia and social withdrawal. In the present study, we selectively ablated AVP neurones in the PVN of male and female mice (Mus musculus) and induced sickness behaviour via injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We found that PVN AVP ablation increased the effects of LPS, specifically by further decreasing sucrose preference in males and females and decreasing the social preference of males, monitored within 24 hours of LPS injection. These results suggest that PVN AVP contributes to the change in motivated behaviours during sickness and may help promote recovery from infection.. Using Cre‐recombinase based cell targeting, we ablated vasopressin‐expressing cells in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), followed by tests of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced sickness behavior. Cre+ subjects, with ablated PVN vasopressin cells, showed greater reduction in sucrose preference and a reduction in social preference after LPS as compared to Cre− controls.