title: Airway cytokine responses to acute and repeated stress in a murine model of allergic asthma.
abstract: Although stress is known to exacerbate asthma, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Using a murine model of allergic asthma, Th1 (interleukin [IL]-2 and gamma-interferon [IFN-γ]) and Th2 (IL-4 and IL-5) airway cytokine responses and Th1:Th2 cytokine ratios to acute and repeated stress were examined in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Asthmatic mice showed significantly higher IL-4 level and Th2 predominance, compared with healthy mice. To acute stress, asthmatic mice significantly increased IL-4 but decreased IFN-γ levels favoring Th2 predominance, whereas healthy mice significantly decreased IL-4 level favoring Th1 predominance in BALF. To repeated stress, asthmatic mice significantly decreased IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-5 levels overall favoring Th1 predominance, whereas healthy mice basically maintained the same response profile shown to acute stress. These findings suggest that a significant shift toward Th2 predominance in asthmatic mice under acute stress may be a mechanism underlying exacerbation of asthma.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston, School of Nursing, 6901 Bertner Ave., Houston, TX 77030, USA. Duck-Hee.Kang@uth.tmc.edu
authors.forename: Duck-Hee
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Weaver
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology*; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000276:immunology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines