Antigen characteristics strongly influenced the effects of stress on the humoral immune response in the rat

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to explore whether the suppressive effect of electric stress (ES) on the immune response in rats was limited to the particular antigen given concomitantly with ES. Therefore, the influence of simultaneous exposure to stress and immunization with an unrelated antigen (keyhole limpet hemocyanin, KLH) on the humoral immune response to bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated. Specific anti-KLH antibody levels were also determined in rats exposed to ES and concomitantly immunized with BSA. Five daily sessions of ES or immunization with KLH 2 weeks prior to immunization with BSA did not influence the secondary humoral immune response to BSA, but concomitant exposure to ES and immunization with KLH significantly decreased it. Conversely, the primary humoral immune response to KLH was suppressed by exposure of the animals to ES at the time of immunization with KLH, as well as at the time of the immunization with BSA 2 weeks later. It is suggested that the suppressive effect of ES on the humoral immune response is not specific for a certain antigen. However, the chemical and immunological characteristics of the antigens shaped the profile of stress-induced immune changes with respect to the sensitivity of the primary and secondary immune response and the duration of the effect.

Cilj rada bio je da se utvrdi da li je supresivni efekat električnog stresa (ES) na imunski odgovor specifičan za antigen kojim su pacovi imunizovani u vreme izlaganja ES. Ispitivan je uticaj istovremene primene stresa i imunizacije sa nesrodnim antigenom (keyhole limpet hemocyanin, KLH) na humoralni imunski odgovor prema goveđem serum albuminu (GSA). Takođe su određivana i specifična anti-KLH antitela u serumima pacova koji su bili istovremeno izloženi stresu i imunizovani sa GSA. Rezultati su pokazali da ni petodnevni ES, ni imunizacija sa KLH dve nedelje pre imunizacije sa GSA nisu uticali na nivo anti- GSA antitela, za razliku od istovremenog izlaganja ES i imunizacije sa GSA koji su značajno suprimirali sekundarni humoralni imunski odgovor prema GSA. Nasuprot tome, primarni humoralni imunski odgovor prema KLH je bio suprimiran u pacova koji su bili izloženi stresu tokom imunizacije sa KLH, ali i kod onih koji su bili izloženi stresu dve nedelje kasnije odnosno tokom imunizacije sa GSA. Naši rezultati ukazuju da supresivni efekat stresa na imunski odgovor nije specifičan za određen antigen, kao i da hemijske i imunološke osobine antigena značajno utiču na kvalitet promena izazvanih stresom u pogledu osetljivosti primarnog i sekundarnog imunskog odgovora na stres i trajanja efekata stresa.