Involvement of central microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 in IL-1β-induced anorexia

In response to infection or inflammation, individuals develop a set of symptoms referred to as sickness behavior, which includes a decrease in food intake. The characterization of the molecular mechanisms underlying this hypophagia remains critical, because chronic anorexia may represent a significant health risk. Prostaglandins (PGs) constitute an important inflammatory mediator family whose levels increase in the brain during inflammatory states, and their involvement in inflammatory-induced anorexia has been proposed. The microsomal PGE synthase (mPGES)-1 enzyme is involved in the last step of PGE2 biosynthesis, and its expression is stimulated by proinflammatory agents. The present study attempted to determine whether an upregulation of mPGES-1 gene expression may account for the immune-induced anorexic behavior. We focused our study on mPGES-1 expression in the hypothalamus and dorsal vagal complex, two structures strongly activated during peripheral inflammation and involved in the regulation of food intake. We showed that mPGES-1 gene expression was robustly upregulated in these structures after intraperitoneal and intracerebroventricular injections of anorexigenic doses of IL-1 beta. This increase was correlated with the onset of anorexia. The concomitant reduction in food intake and central mPGES-1 gene upregulation led us to test the feeding behavior of mice lacking mPGES-1 during inflammation. Interestingly, IL-1 beta failed to decrease food intake in mPGES-1(-/-) mice, although these animals developed anorexia in response to a PGE2 injection. Taken together, our results demonstrate that mPGES-1, which is strongly upregulated during inflammation in central structures involved in feeding control, is essential for immune anorexic behavior and thus may constitute a potential therapeutic target.