Preclinical Study in Mouse Thymus and Thymocytes: Effects of Treatment with a Combination of Sodium Dichloroacetate and Sodium Valproate on Infectious Inflammation Pathways

Abstract

The research presents data from a preclinical study on the anti-inflammatory effects of a sodium dichloroacetate and sodium valproate combination (DCA–VPA). The 2-week treatment with a DCA 100 mg/kg/day and VPA 150 mg/kg/day combination solution in drinking water’s effects on the thymus weight, its cortex/medulla ratio, Hassall’s corpuscles (HCs) number in the thymus medulla, and the expression of inflammatory and immune-response-related genes in thymocytes of male Balb/c mice were studied. Two groups of mice aged 6–7 weeks were investigated: a control (n = 12) and a DCA–VPA-treated group (n = 12). The treatment did not affect the body weight gain (p > 0.05), the thymus weight (p > 0.05), the cortical/medulla ratio (p > 0.05), or the number of HCs (p > 0.05). Treatment significantly increased the Slc5a8 gene expression by 2.1-fold (p < 0.05). Gene sequence analysis revealed a significant effect on the expression of inflammation-related genes in thymocytes by significantly altering the expression of several genes related to the cytokine activity pathway, the inflammatory response pathway, and the Il17 signaling pathway in thymocytes. Data suggest that DCA–VPA exerts an anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the inflammatory mechanisms in the mouse thymocytes.