Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2)-deficiency impairs male mouse recovery from a depression-like state.

ABSTRACT: Major depression is a prevalent, debilitating disease, yet therapeutic interventions for depression are frequently inadequate. Many clinical and pre-clinical studies have demonstrated that depression is associated with aberrant activation of the inflammatory system, raising the possibility that reducing inflammation may provide antidepressant effects. Using the learned helplessness mouse model, we tested if susceptibility or recovery were affected by deficiency in either of two receptors that initiate inflammatory signaling, Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) and TLR2, using knockout male mice. TLR4^-/- mice displayed a strong resistance to learned helplessness, confirming that blocking inflammatory signaling through TLR4 provides robust protection against this depression-like behavior.

SUBMITTER: Medina-Rodriguez EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7572513 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature