Abnormal IL-1beta cytokine expression in the cerebellum of the ataxic mutant mice staggerer and lurcher.

To assess the extent to which interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) may contribute to the development and/or progression of neurodegenerative processes, we have examined the levels of IL-1beta in the brain of two types of neurological mutant mice, staggerer and Lurcher. Using a quantitative immunological method (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, ELISA), we measured IL-1beta in the cerebellum, hippocampus and cerebral cortex of mutant mice at baseline and after peripheral LPS treatment. Two types of IL-1beta expression abnormalities were found in the mutant cerebella: higher basal level in Lurcher and a response to peripheral administration of LPS in staggerer. The association of IL-1beta expression abnormalities with the only brain structure where a massive neurodegeneration occurs supports the role of proinflammatory cytokines in this process.