title: Stress exacerbates age-related decrements in the immune response to an experimental influenza viral infection.
abstract: To test the hypothesis that stress exacerbates immune decrements associated with aging, the impact of restraint stress on immunosenescence was assessed using an experimental model of influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/34 viral infection. Beginning one day prior to infection, male C57BL/6 mice, 3 and 22 months of age, were subjected nightly to 12 hours of restraint stress. In both age groups, restraint induced a comparable increase in serum corticosterone levels. However, in contrast to the 3-month-old controls, serum corticosterone levels in 22-month-old mice returned to baseline slower after removal of the stressor. The characteristic influenza-driven increase in cellularity of the lung and draining lymph node was decreased by age and further suppressed by stress. Natural killer cell activity and virus-specific T helper cell function were also blunted by age and almost completely abrogated by stress. Furthermore, due to the weak immune response to viral infection, aged animals subjected to stress had a lower survival rate than age-matched controls.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Biology, College of Dentistry, Ohio State University, USA.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Padgett
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: MacCallum
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Sheridan
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D009980:Influenza A virus; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009976:Orthomyxoviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D012149:Restraint, Physical; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D003345:Corticosterone