Mycoplasma fermentans activates the hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis in the rat

Joseph Weidenfeld*, Avital Wohlman, Ruth Gallily

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Intracerebroventricular administration in rats of heat inactivated Mycoplasma fermentans caused a doseand time-dependent increase in serum adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) and corticosterone (CS). In rats with complete deafferentation of the mediobasal hypothalamus, which markedly depleted the median eminence CRF-41, the ACTH and CS responses to M. fermentans were completely inhibited. Pretreatment with dexamethasone abolished the adrenocortical response to M. fermentans. In lipopolysaccharide (LPS) unresponsive C3H/HeJ mice LPS failed to induce the adrenocortical response while administration of M. fermentans elicited a normal CS response. These results suggest that: M. fermentans can activate the hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenal axis via a central mechanism which involves hypothalamic ACTH secretagogue(s), and this effect is sensitive to the negative feedback of glucocorticoids. It is possible that the elevated glucocorticoid levels resulting from mycoplasma infection may be involved in the pathogenesis of mycoplasma-associated diseases.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)910-912
Number of pages3
JournalNeuroReport
Volume6
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1995

Keywords

  • ACTH
  • Corticosterone
  • CRF-41
  • Dexamethasone
  • Hypothalamic deafferentation
  • LPS
  • Mycoplasma

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