title: Possible involvement of stress hormones and hyperglycaemia in chronic mild stress-induced impairment of immune functions in diabetic mice.
abstract: Stress, an important aspect of modern life, has long been associated with an altered homeostatic state. Little is known about the effect of the life stress on the outcome of diabetes mellitus, especially related to the higher risk of infections. Here, we evaluate the effects of chronic mild stress (CMS) exposure on the evolution of type I diabetes induced by streptozotocin administration in BALB/c mice. Exposure of diabetic mice to CMS resulted in a significant reduction of survival and a sustained increase in blood glucose values. Concerning the immune response, chronic stress had a differential effect in mice with diabetes with respect to controls, showing a marked decrease in both T- and B-cell proliferation. No correlation was found between splenic catecholamine or circulating corticosterone levels and the proliferative response. However, a significant negative correlation was found between glucose levels and concanavalin A- and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated proliferative responses of T and B cells. A positive correlation between blood glucose and splenic catecholamine concentrations was found in diabetic mice but not in controls subjected to CMS. Hence, the present report shows that diabetic mice show a worse performance in immune function after stress exposure, pointing to the importance of considering life stress as a risk factor for patients with diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos (CEFYBO), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), 1era Cátedra de Farmacología, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Paraguay 2155, Piso 15, 1121 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Rubinstein
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Cremaschi
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Oliveri
authors.forename: E N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Gerez
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Wald
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Genaro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000097:blood; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000097:blood* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005508:Food Deprivation; D006728:Hormones / Q000502:physiology*; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000097:blood*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008934:Mitogens / Q000494:pharmacology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000276:immunology*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D014868:Water Deprivation / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D002395:Catecholamines; D006728:Hormones; D008934:Mitogens; D003345:Corticosterone