title: Blood and spleen natural killer cell cytotoxicity after exposure to open field stress in rats: the effect of spontaneous locomotor activity.
abstract: In the present study we compared the effects of acute (30 min), white and illuminated open field (OF) stress on behavioral, immune and endocrine variables between rats divided into high (HR) and low (LR) responsive to novelty and in a non-divided group. It was found that OF-induced behavioral depression which was in parallel to suppression of both blood and spleen natural killer cell cytotoxicity (NKCC), large granular lymphocyte (LGL) and lymphocyte numbers occurred in stressed LR rats only. There was no significant difference in the plasma level of corticosterone (COR) and testosterone (TST) between HR and LR rats. In contrast, when the HR and LR groups were examined together (the non-divided group), no significant influence of OF stress on behavioral activity or NKCC was observed. These results emphasize that individual differences as measured by spontaneous locomotor activity play the important role for the study of the mechanisms involved in stress-induced immunomodulation and indicate that OF stress-induced behavioral depression in low reactivity animals may be accompanied by impaired defence against viral infections and neoplastic growth, which is functionally related to NKCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Physiology, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk 80822, Poland. wronada@biotech.univ.gda.pl
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wrona
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Jurkowski
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tokarski
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D003601:Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic / Q000379:methods; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D006120:Grooming; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000276:immunology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D014554:Urination / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone; D003345:Corticosterone