HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 289/3/R738    most recent 00145.2005v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (4) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Dhabhar, F. S. Articles by Viswanathan, K. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Dhabhar, F. S. Articles by Viswanathan, K.

INFLAMMATION AND CYTOKINES

Short-term stress experienced at time of immunization induces a long-lasting increase in immunologic memory

¹Department of Oral Biology, College of Dentistry, ²Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, College of Medicine, and ³Institute of Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

Submitted 28 February 2005 ; accepted in final form 9 May 2005

It would be extremely beneficial if one could harness natural, endogenous, health-promoting defense mechanisms to fight disease and restore health. The psychophysiological stress response is the most underappreciated of nature's survival mechanisms. We show that acute stress experienced before primary immunization induces a long-lasting increase in immunity. Compared with controls, mice restrained for 2.5 h before primary immunization with keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) show a significantly enhanced immune response when reexposed to KLH 9 mo later. This immunoenhancement is mediated by an increase in numbers of memory and effector helper T cells in sentinel lymph nodes at the time of primary immunization. Further analyses show that the early stress-induced increase in T cell memory may stimulate the robust increase in infiltrating lymphocyte and macrophage numbers observed months later at a novel site of antigen reexposure. Enhanced leukocyte infiltration may be driven by increased levels of the type 1 cytokines, IL-2 and IFN-, and TNF-, observed at the site of antigen reexposure in animals that had been stressed at the time of primary immunization. In contrast, no differences were observed in type 2 cytokines, IL-4 or IL-5. Given the importance of inducing long-lasting increases in immunologic memory during vaccination, we suggest that the neuroendocrine stress response is nature's adjuvant that could be psychologically and/or pharmacologically manipulated to safely increase vaccine efficacy. These studies introduce the novel concept that a psychophysiological stress response is nature's fundamental survival mechanism that could be therapeutically harnessed to augment immune function during vaccination, wound healing, or infection.

hormone; Langerhans cell; skin diseases; surveillance; leukocyte trafficking

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. Star, M. G. B. Nieuwland, B. Kemp, and H. K. Parmentier Effect of Single or Combined Climatic and Hygienic Stress on Natural and Specific Humoral Immune Competence in Four Layer Lines Poult. Sci., September 1, 2007; 86(9): 1894 - 1903. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]