Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects people in all demographics, since it is associated with a variety of chronic degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's disease. In TBI, the central nervous system elicits an immune response involving various immune cells that is necessary for healing and defending the body against pathogens, but can also cause secondary damage to the brain if the response is prolonged. In our clinical practice, it has been identified that administration of
dexmedetomidine was associated with reduced production of inflammatory
cytokines in patients with TBI, which led to the hypothesis that
dexmedetomidine may regulate certain inflammatory responses. To test this hypothesis, the roles of
dexmedetomidine in the immune system of mice were investigated. Different
biological assays were used to assess the influence of
dexmedetomidine on the production of inflammatory
cytokines, including
tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α,
interleukin (IL)-6,
IL-8 and IL-1β. To understand how
dexmedetomidine affects different types of immune cells, the influence of
dexmedetomidine on splenocytes was also investigated. Finally, the effects of
dexmedetomidine on macrophage activation and inflammatory functions were studied. In the present study, clinical observations and in vivo results using a mouse model of TBI revealed the regulatory functions of
dexmedetomidine in TBI-associated immune response.