To the ill patient with diabetes, the behavioral symptoms of sickness such as fatigue and apathy are debilitating and can prevent recuperation. Here we report that peripherally administered insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) attenuates LPS-dependent depression of social exploration (sickness) in nondiabetic (db͞ϩ) but not in diabetic (db͞db) mice. We show that the insulin͞IGF-1 mimetic vanadyl sulfate (VS) is effective at augmenting recovery from sickness in both db͞ϩ and db͞db mice. Specifically, peak illness was reached at 2 h for both VS and control animals injected with LPS, and VS mice recovered 50% faster than non-VS-treated animals. Examination of the mechanism of VS action in db͞ϩ mice showed that VS paradoxically augmented peritoneal macrophage responsivity to LPS, increasing both peritoneal and ex vivo macrophage production of IL-1 and IL-6 but not TNF-␣. The effects of VS in promoting recovery from sickness were not restricted to LPS, because they were also observed after direct administration of IL-1. To explore the possibility that VS impairs immune-to-brain communication via vagal afferents, the vagally mediated satietyinducing effects of cholecystokinin 8 were tested in db͞ϩ mice. Cholecystokinin decreased food intake in saline-injected mice but not in VS-treated mice. VS also inhibited LPS-dependent up-regulation of IL-1 and IL-6 mRNA in the brain, while increasing by 50% the cerebral expression of transcripts of the specific antagonist of IL-1 receptors IL-1RA and IL-1R2. Taken together, these data indicate that VS improves recovery from LPS-induced sickness by blocking vagally mediated immune-to-brain signaling and by upregulating brain expression of IL-1 antagonists.neuroimmunity ͉ sickness behavior ͉ type 2 diabetes ͉ vanadium S timulation of the peripheral innate immune system by the cytokine inducer LPS causes expression of proinflammatory cytokines in the brain, and this response is associated with development of sickness behavior (1). We have recently shown that type 2 diabetic (db͞db) mice display an enhanced and more prolonged episode of sickness in response to LPS and IL-1 (2). How diabetes alters brain-immune interactions however, is still unclear. Insulin resistance is a critical component of type 2 diabetes and is likely responsible for initiation (3). Strategies to maximize insulin sensitivity, increase insulin action, and͞or inhibit insulin counterregulation might be expected to neutralize the deleterious effect of type 2 diabetes on superimposed illness. One agent with antidiabetic properties is vanadium (V). V is a naturally occurring element found in soil and rocks at a concentration of Ϸ150 ppm (4). It does not normally exist in elemental form but is bound most commonly to oxygen, sodium, chloride, and sulfur (5). V has six oxidation states (1Ϫ through 5ϩ), with V ϩ 4 and V ϩ 5 being most common in the body (6). The average human intake of V is 10-20 g͞day, mostly from plant material (5) in the form of sodium metavanadate, sodium orthovanadate, V pentoxide, and vanadyl ...