Behavioral evaluation of transgenic mice with CNS expression of IFN-α by elevated plus-maze and Porsolt swim test

Chronic IFN-α treatment as an antiviral or anti-cancer therapy can lead to severe psychiatric complications, including depression and anxiety in patients. In many animal models of IFN-α-induced behavioral dysfunction, the opposite results have frequently been reported. In an attempt to overcome the limitation of pharmacological studies, IFN-α-transgenic mice with CNS-targeted expression of the IFN-α transgene were used to study depression and anxiety-like behaviors by Porsolt swim and elevated plus-maze assays, respectively. Interestingly, chronic stimulation of IFN-α signaling in mouse brains did not cause depression or anxiety as measured by these tests in comparison with wild-type littermates. This observation suggests that factors other than IFN-α may be necessary for the development of psychiatric complications following IFN-α therapy in patients.