Progesterone inhibits the expression of tumor necrosis factoralpha and interleukin-1β in cultured microglia

Objective Inflammatory cytokines play important roles in the pathophysiology of cerebral infarction and other central nervous system diseases.This study was designed to investigate the influence of progesterone on lipopolysaccharide-induced expression of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in primary cultured microglia.Methods Microglia were obtained from cerebral cortexes of neonatal Sprague Dawley rats.Microglia were separated,purificated, cultured and activated.ELISA was used to detect the level of TNF-α, IL-1β in supernate fluid before and after induced with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or influenced by progesterone.Results LPS strongly induced the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β in microglia from cerebral cortexes.Progesterone inhibited the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β.Conclusion progesterone significantly reduced the expression of inflammatory factors generated by microglia and inhibited the activation of microglia in vitro.