The effects of lithium on ex vivo cytokine production

Background: Studies suggest that lithium may have profound immunomodulatory effects in animal models as well as in humans. Methods: In this study, whole blood cultures from normal control subjects were established for 5 days and the effects of lithium on cytokine production were investigated. Becaus...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological psychiatry (1969) 2001-08, Vol.50 (3), p.217-224
Main Authors: Rapaport, Mark Hyman, Manji, Husseini K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Antipsychotic Agents - pharmacology
Biological and medical sciences
Bipolar Disorder - drug therapy
Bipolar Disorder - immunology
Bipolar Disorder - metabolism
Cells, Cultured
cyclic AMP
Cyclic AMP - metabolism
Cytokines
Cytokines - immunology
Cytokines - metabolism
Female
Humans
IL-2
immunology
lithium
Lithium - pharmacology
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
myo-inositol
Neuropharmacology
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases - metabolism
Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease)
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopharmacology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background: Studies suggest that lithium may have profound immunomodulatory effects in animal models as well as in humans. Methods: In this study, whole blood cultures from normal control subjects were established for 5 days and the effects of lithium on cytokine production were investigated. Because many of lithium’s actions have been postulated to be modulated through phosphoinositide (PI), protein kinase C (PKC) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (c-AMP) signaling pathways, the effects of myo-inositol and prostaglandin E 2, alone or in combination with lithium, were also investigated. Results: We found that lithium caused an increase in interleukin-4 and interleukin-10 levels, traditionally classified as T-helper lymphocyte type-2 cytokines, and a decrease in interleukin-2 and interferon-γ levels, traditionally classified as T-helper lymphocyte type-1 (TH-1) cytokines. This shift cannot be fully explained by lithium’s actions on the PI, PKC, or c-AMP messenger systems. Conclusions: Monocytes exposed to lithium in the presence of a mitogen for 5 days produced a shift toward the production of TH-2 cytokines and away from the production of TH-1 cytokines. The study suggests that lithium may have complex time-dependent effects on immune function.
ISSN:0006-3223
1873-2402
DOI:10.1016/S0006-3223(01)01144-1