Stress susceptibility predicts the severity of immune depression and the failure to combat bacterial infections in chronically stressed mice.
Chronic psychological stress has been suggested to play a role in disorders in which the immune system unexpectedly fails to respond in a protective manner. Chronic combined acoustic and restraint stress compromises the anti-bacterial defense mechanisms of female BALB/c mice. The immunodeficiency is characterized by an apoptotic loss of lymphocytes, reduced ex vivo-inducibility of TNF but increased inducibility of IL10, reduced T-cell proliferation, and impaired phagocyte functions. Stressed mice develop depression-like behavior that was monitored by a stress severity score (SSS). Besides a strain (BALB/c>CBA) and gender (male>female) dependent susceptibility to chronic stress, inbred mice have an individual coping ability. Importantly, the individual SSS strongly correlates with Escherichia coli dissemination after infection as well as with IL10-inducibility and circulating corticosterone levels of each animal.
Kiank
C
C
Department of Immunology, University of Greifswald, Germany.
Holtfreter
B
B
Starke
A
A
Mundt
A
A
Wilke
C
C
Schütt
C
C
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology*; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D015213:Neuroimmunomodulation / Q000276:immunology; D011897:Random Allocation; D012149:Restraint, Physical; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D013045:Species Specificity; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*
D016207:Cytokines