Effects of Haloperidol, Risperidone, and Aripiprazole on the Immunometabolic Properties of BV-2 Microglial Cells

Microglial cells are resident macrophages in the brain that have been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. There is a lack of studies covering the effects of antipsychotics on microglial cells. The current literature points to a possible anti-inflammatory action without clear mechanisms of action. The aim of this study is to characterize the effects of haloperidol, risperidone and aripiprazole on BV-2 microglial cells in in vitro conditions. We have used immunofluorescence and flow cytometry to analyze the classical pro and anti-inflammatory markers, while a real-time metabolic assay (Seahorse) was used to assess metabolic function. We analyzed the expression of p70S6K to evaluate the mTOR pathway activity with Western blot. In this study, we demonstrate the varying effects of haloperidol, risperidone and aripiprazole administration in BV-2 microglial cells. All three tested antipsychotics were successful in reducing the pro-inflammatory action of microglial cells, although only aripiprazole increased the expression of anti-inflammatory markers. Most significant differences in the possible mechanisms of action were seen in the real-time metabolic assays and in the mTORC1 signaling pathway activity, with aripiprazole being the only antipsychotic to reduce the mTORC1 activity. Our results shed some new light on the effects of haloperidol, risperidone and aripiprazole action in microglial cells, and reveal a novel possible mechanism of action for aripiprazole.