title: Altered immunomodulation by glucocorticoids in neonatal pigs exposed to a psychosocial stressor.
abstract: Stressful early life experiences can have short- and long-term effects on neuroendocrine and immune mechanisms of adaptation, which are primarily modulated by glucocorticoids. This study aimed to examine how the stress and immune systems interact to cope with psychosocial stress induced by a single social isolation (4 h) in neonatal pigs at 7, 21, or 35 d of age. This social isolation provoked increased plasma ACTH and cortisol concentrations and reduced TNF-α levels but had no significant effect on IL-6 levels. Socially isolated piglets had a higher lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated proliferative response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) than controls, whereas concanavalin A (ConA)-induced proliferation was not affected by isolation. A single social isolation also induced a dose-dependent cortisol resistance in ConA- and LPS-stimulated PBMCs compared with controls, which may be an adaptive response in the short term. Moreover, LPS-stimulated cultures from control piglets showed a reduction in cortisol sensitivity with increasing age. Conclusively, these findings provide stress-related measures for the psychophysiological assessment of livestock handling practices but might also have implications for stress and health studies in young animals and humans.
authors: Research Unit Behavioural Physiology, Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Dummerstorf D-18196, Germany. mtuchsch@fbn-dummerstorf.de
authors: Margret
authors: M
authors: Tuchscherer
authors: Ellen
authors: E
authors: Kanitz
authors: Birger
authors: B
authors: Puppe
authors: Armin
authors: A
authors: Tuchscherer
mesh_terms: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology; D056747:Immunomodulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D011897:Random Allocation; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology*; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000276:immunology* / Q000523:psychology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D015850:Interleukin-6; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D006854:Hydrocortisone