Study summary · research use only
Acetyl-L-carnitine attenuates Poly I:C-induced sickness behavior in mice
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
In this male mouse study (C3H/HeN strain), researchers examined whether acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC), given for 5 days before Poly I:C administration, altered Poly I:C-induced sickness behavior. The abstract reports ALC administration was associated with an attenuated decrease in wheel behavior activity at 24 h after Poly I:C administration, and that ALC-treated mice recovered from sickness behavior more quickly. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene expression in the cerebrum and hippocampus was higher in the ALC-treated group, and translocator protein 18kDa (TSPO) was upregulated in the cerebrum and hippocampus, findings the authors associate with cytoprotective effects related to the attenuated activity decrease after Poly I:C treatment.
Abstract
Fatigue is accompanied by a decrease in physical activity or malaise, and might be reduced by acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) administration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the preventive effects of ALC on Poly I:C-induced sickness behavior in mice. For the experiment, male C3H/HeN mice were used and treated with ALC for 5 days before Poly I:C administration. ALC administration attenuated the decrease in wheel behavior activity of mice at 24 h after Poly I:C administration and ALC-treated mice quickly recovered from the sickness behavior. The gene expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the cerebrum and hippocampus, which is associated with physical activity, was higher in the ALC-treated group. Translocator protein 18kDa (TSPO), which has cytoprotective effects, was up-regulated in the cerebrum and hippocampus, suggesting that ALC suppressed the decrease in activity induced by Poly I:C treatment through enhancement of cytoprotective effects in the brain.
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