 In this study, researchers found that systemic administration of bacterial lipopolysaccharide, LPS, led to both sickness and mild depressive-like behavior in mice. The researchers also observed that LPS caused an increase in cytokines in the serum and brain, as well as astrocyte activation in transgenic GFAP luke mice and immunoreactivity against the microbial marker-ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 in the dentate gyrus of wild type mice. Despite the overlap in time course and mild effects on depression-related behavior per se, the researchers were unable to separate sickness from depressive-like behavior in the present rodent model. This article was authored by Stephen Beesman's, Theo F. Mert, Jan A. Boonecht and others.