title: Restraint stress causes tissue-specific changes in the immune cell distribution.
abstract: In this study, the effect of restraint stress on alterations in the immune cell distribution was examined in bone marrow, liver, thymus, and spleen. In bone marrow, stress induced a striking increase in both the proportion and number of CD3+CD4+, CD3+CD8+, B220brightIgM+, CD3-IL-2R beta + and CD3intIL-2R beta + cells. Such an increase was partially reversed by pretreatment with RU-486, a steroid receptor antagonist, while it was profoundly enhanced by either sympathectomy with 6-hydroxydopamine hydrobromide or by a beta-adrenergic blockade with propranolol, a beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist; this suggests that corticosteroids and catecholamines may act in opposition with regard to such an immune-cell accumulation in bone marrow. In the liver, stress decreased the proportions of CD3intIL-2R beta +, CD3-IL-2R beta +, and B220brightIgM+ cells, while it increased the proportion of CD3brightIL-2R beta-cells, thus demonstrating that different subpopulations were differentially affected. In the thymus and spleen, stress only slightly affected the proportions of lymphocyte subpopulations, although both tissues showed a drastic reduction in the number of lymphocytes. Taken together, these results suggest that restraint stress induces tissue-specific changes in the immune-cell distribution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sudo
authors.forename: X N
authors.initials: XN
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sogawa
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kubo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000032:analysis; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D015735:Mifepristone / Q000494:pharmacology; D012149:Restraint, Physical; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000276:immunology*; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D015735:Mifepristone