Effects of i.c.v. administration of interleukin-1 on sleep and body temperature of interleukin-6-deficient mice

Cytokines in brain contribute to the regulation of physiological processes and complex behavior, including sleep. The cytokines that have been most extensively studied with respect to sleep are interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-6. Administration of these cytokines into laboratory animals, or in some cases into healthy human volunteers, increases the amount of time spent in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Although antagonizing the IL-1 or TNF systems reduces the amount of time laboratory animals spend in NREM sleep, interactions among these three cytokine systems as they pertain to the regulation of physiological NREM sleep are not well understood. To further elucidate mechanisms in brain by which IL-1β, TNFα, and/or IL-6 contribute to NREM sleep regulation, we injected recombinant murine interleukin-1β (muIL-1β) into C57BL/6J mice and into IL-6-deficient mice (IL-6 knockout, KO). IL-6 KO (B6.129S6-Il6tm1Kopf; n=13) and C57BL/6J mice (n=14) were implanted with telemeters to record the electroencephalogram (EEG) and core body temperature, as well as with indwelling guide cannulae targeted to one of the lateral ventricles. After recovery and habituation, mice were injected intracerebroventricularly just prior to dark onset on different days with either 0.5 μl vehicle (pyrogen-free saline; PFS) or with 0.5 μl PFS containing one of four doses of muIL-1β (2.5 ng, 5 ng, 10 ng, 50 ng). No mouse received more than two doses of muIL-1β, and administration of muIL-1β doses was counter-balanced to eliminate potential order effects. Sleep–wake behavior was determined for 24 h after injections. i.c.v. administration of muIL-1β increased in NREM sleep of both mouse strains in a dose-related fashion, but the maximal increase was of greater magnitude in C57Bl/6J mice. muIL-1β induced fever in C57Bl/6J mice but not in IL-6 KO mice. Collectively, these data demonstrate IL-6 is necessary for IL-1 to induce fever, but IL-6 is not necessary for IL-1 to alter NREM sleep.