Naloxone blocks the interferon-alpha induced changes in hypothalamic neuronal activity.

The effects of recombinant human interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) and naloxone (NLX) were studied on the single neuron activities of the preoptic and anterior hypothalamus (PO/AH) and the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) in tissue slices. Perfusion of IFN-alpha in physiological doses (10-5000 units/ml) decreased and increased the firing rate of the majority of PO/AH and VMH neurons respectively. The IFN-alpha-induced changes in firing rate of PO/AH and VMH neurons were reversibly blocked or attenuated by simultaneous application of NLX. The results suggest that IFN-alpha may exert its action through opiate receptors in the hypothalamus.