Impact of chronic and acute academic stress on lymphocyte subsets and monocyte function

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of a temporally confined naturalistic stressor (academic stress) on immune functions. Furthermore, moderating influences of a number of psychological variables were assessed. Five blood samples were obtained from 20 students during an observation period of 8 weeks, starting 4.5 weeks before an exam period up to 1 week following the last exam. The analysis of 45 immune parameters revealed several time-dependent changes attributable to examination stress. We observed a reduction in the absolute numbers of natural killer (NK) cells and monocytes in peripheral blood and a shift towards more immature and naïve cells within NK and T cell populations. In addition, IL-6 and TNF-α production by LPS-stimulated monocytes was increased. Psychological variables were grouped by means of factor analyses into two factors. One factor, which was interpreted as an indication of chronic stress, moderated the relationships between academic stress and percentages of mature CD57+ NK cells. This chronic stress factor was also associated with an increase in memory and a decrease in naïve CD8 T cells and increased serum levels of IL-17. The present study identifies important potential psychological mediators of stress-induced changes in specific immunological parameters.

Early Blood Profile of C57BL/6 Mice Exposed to Chronic Unpredictable Stress

“…Increased NLR (24, 27) and mild anemia have been reported in patient populations as a result of chronic stress or chronic inflammation (28, 29). Also consistent with our findings, a stress-induced decrease in monocytes and T cells in humans has been reported (30). However, other studies have demonstrated elevated monocyte levels in the blood of chronically stressed humans and increased contribution of inflammatory cell populations from bone marrow resulting from chronic stress in mice (3).…”

“…While our study did not demonstrate these changes in the blood at the early (10-day) time point, it is possible that continued CUS would result in similar changes or that the observed reduction in circulating immune cells may be reflective of redistribution of these cells from the blood to the tissue. Thus, it is important to note that the immune impact of chronic stress can be highly time and context dependent and can vary with intensity and duration of the stressor, the strain or animal model employed, and the method and tissue type examined (30, 31) [reviewed in Ref. (23)].…”

Low self-reported stress despite immune-physiological changes in paramedics during rescue operations

“…Also, we found a lower level of mature NK cells, which was previously demonstrated to correlate with high stress levels. Similar results were also observed in a previous study (Maydych et al, 2017[ 38 ]). The reason for the reduced amount of mature NK cells during stress is not clear so far, but our hypothesis is that mature immune cells migrate into lymphnodes instead of circulating in the blood.…”

Physical Activity and Nutritional Influence on Immune Function: An Important Strategy to Improve Immunity and Health Status

“…After exercise, a balanced and simple carbohydrate diet, such as 30-60 g/h, has immunomodulatory effects as observed in athletes. These effects are decreased systemic IL-6 release neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, less suppression of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells, which causes leukocyte distribution and immune responses such as neutrophil degranulation and oxidative stress, lymphocyte proliferation and functions (Maydych et al, 2017;Peake et al, 2017).…”