Inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines bidirectionally modulate amygdala circuits regulating anxiety

Abstract

Patients with autoimmune or infectious diseases can develop persistent mood alterations after inflammatory episodes. Peripheral immune molecules, like cytokines, can influence behavioral and internal states, yet their impact on the function of specific neural circuits in the brain remains unclear. Here, we show that cytokines act as neuromodulators to regulate anxiety by engaging receptor-expressing neurons in the basolateral amygdala (BLA). Heightened interleukin-17A (IL-17A) and IL-17C levels, paradoxically induced from treatment with anti-IL-17 receptor A (IL-17RA) antibodies, promote anxiogenic behaviors by increasing the excitability of IL-17RA/RE-expressing BLA neurons. Conversely, the anti-inflammatory IL-10, acting on the same population of BLA neurons via its receptor, exerts opposite effects on neuronal excitability and behavior. These findings reveal that inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines bidirectionally modulate anxiety by engaging their respective receptors in the same BLA population. Our results highlight the role of cytokine signaling in shaping internal states through direct modulation of specific neural substrates.