Low-Level Stress Induces Production of Neuroprotective Factors in Wild-Type but Not BDNF+/- Mice: Interleukin-10 and Kynurenic Acid.

Background: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) deficiency confers vulnerability to stress, but the mechanisms are unclear. BDNF(+/-) mice exhibit behavioral, physiological, and neurochemical changes following low-level stress that are hallmarks of major depression. After immune challenge, neuroinflammation-induced changes in tryptophan metabolism along the kynurenine pathway mediate depressive-like behaviors.