Antidepressant compounds can be both pro- and anti-inflammatory in human hippocampal cells.

Background: The increasingly recognized role of inflammation in the pathogenesis and prognosis of depression has led to a renewed focus on the immunomodulatory properties of compounds with antidepressant action. Studies have, so far, explored such properties in human blood samples and in animal models.

Methods: Here we used the more relevant model of human hippocampal progenitor cells exposed to an inflammatory milieu, induced by treatment with IL-1β.