Prostaglandin F_2α exacerbates ovalbumin-induced chronic pneumonia and attenuates depression in mice

Abstract

Prolonged lung inflammation leads to the development of asthma and approximately 27.8% of adult patients with asthma suffer from depression. We examined the effect of the prostaglandin F_2α (PGF_2α) receptor (FP receptor) agonist, fluprostenol, on ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma and asthma-related depression in mice. Repeated fluprostenol+OVA administration increased OVA-induced inflammatory cell infiltration and mRNA expression of inflammatory mediators in the lung. In contrast, in the tail suspension and forced swim tests, fluprostenol+OVA administration significantly reduced the immobile time compared with saline+OVA-administered mice. Fluprostenol+OVA treatment significantly upregulated serotonin 1A receptor and tryptophan hydroxylase in the hippocampus compared with the expression in saline+OVA mice. These results suggest that PGF receptor (FP receptor) stimulation promotes lung inflammation but attenuates depression, possibly via the serotonin pathway.