Figure 1. Pom and DP, at doses well tolerated by rodents, significantly reduce LPS-induced TNF-α levels in rat plasma, and hippocampal and cerebral cortical tissues.

(A) Chemical structures of Pomalidomide (Pom) and the novel analog 3,6’-Dithiopomalidomide (DP). (B) Treatment of animals with LPS markedly elevated levels of TNF-α. Pretreatment of the animals with Pom and DP significantly reduced these LPS-induced TNF-α increases across plasma and brain tissues. *, ** Refers to the effects of LPS compared to control (Veh). #, ## refers to the effect of drug treatments vs. the LPS + Veh. Values are presented as mean ± S.E.M., of n observations (Veh n = 3; LPS + Veh n = 3; LPS + Pom n = 4; LPS + DP n = 4). (C) The effects of daily administrations of Veh, Pom and DP on mouse body weight are illustrated to evaluate drug tolerability. Following 21 days of daily administration there were no adverse effects of agents on animal body weights; animals appeared well groomed and were indistinguishable from one another. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001 refers to significant changes in body weight compared to body weight at day 0 (i.e. body weight prior to treatment in the same animals). Values are presented as mean ± S.E.M., of n observations (Veh n = 8; Pom n = 5; DP n = 5). There were no significant differences in body weight seen across groups following the same days of treatment.