Fig. 1.

Prior exposure to CORT and DFP increases the expression of cytokine mRNAs in response to subsequent challenge with LPS. (A) Rats were exposed to CORT for 7d followed by DFP on Day 8. Rats were re-exposed to bouts of CORT every other week for 4 weeks and challenged with LPS on Day 36. Tnf, Il6, Ccl2, Il1b, Lif, and Osm mRNA levels were measured in cortex (B), hippocampus (C) and liver (D) at 6h post-LPS by qPCR. Data represents mean ± SEM (N = 5–7/group); dashed line indicates saline control value and open circles indicate individual data points. P ≤ 0.05 compared to saline control(∗), CORT(#), CORT + DFP(§), or CORT + LPS(¥).