3.2. Effect of 6-OHDA intracerebroventricular injection
on IL-l production by adherent spleen cell from PCM
rats
IL-l production was enhanced in PCM animals
treated with 6-OHDA when compared with solvent
injected and untreated PCM animals (Fig. 2A). Malnourished
animals injected with 6-OHDA had a similar
response to that of well-nourished untreated animals
(Fig. 2B). A significant difference P < 0.02 (Mann-
Whitney test) was observed when comparing untreated
malnourished and well-nourished untreated rats. In
addition, no difference was found between malnourished
solvent i.c.v.-injected and well-nourished untreated
rats. This was probably produced by the ascorbate
used in the solvent injection, since low pH may
result in an inflammatory reaction that is known to
No differences were demonstrated in spleen NA
concentration among all groups (Table 1). A significantly
higher NA turnover was detected in median
eminence of PCM rats. NA turnover in ME, expressed
as the ratio of HMPG:NA, was 0.19 + 0.02 and 0.095 f
0.002 (mean + SEM) in malnourished vs. wellnourished
untreated rats (P < 0.025, Student’s t-test).