Reducing post-traumatic anxiety by immunization

Behavioral immunization: immunity to self-antigens contributes to psychological stress resilience

“…Mouse strains in which stress-induced lymphocyte trafficking is enhanced, exhibit improved ability to cope with the stress, and hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was restored to prestress levels. 22 These results supported our hypothesis that a stressful experience enhances lymphocyte trafficking to the CNS as physiological mechanism for maintenance of homeostasis (Figure 1).…”

“…We found that acute exposure to predator odor enhances lymphocyte trafficking to the brain through a mechanism similar to stress-induced lymphocyte trafficking to the skin. 22 Furthermore, we found an association between lymphocyte recruitment to the brain and stress resilience. Mouse strains in which stress-induced lymphocyte trafficking is enhanced, exhibit improved ability to cope with the stress, and hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was restored to prestress levels.…”

“…Mice that were vaccinated with the CNS-related peptide showed reduced anxiety levels and a reduced acoustic startle response, as well as enhanced recovery of hippocampal BDNF. 22 Other experiments also support the involvement of immunological memory in CNS recovery from physical injury. We observed significantly improved locomotor activity in rats that were passively transferred with MBP-activated splenocytes derived from CNS-injured rats, compared to injured rats that received splenocytes from an uninjured, naive animal.…”

Therapeutic Implications of Brain–Immune Interactions: Treatment in Translation

“…For example, after partial crush injury of the optic nerve, T cells immunized to specific CNS antigens (ie, myelin basic protein) were found to protect against secondary nerve degeneration (Moalem et al, 1999). Interestingly, a similar process has been demonstrated in the context of stress, whereby T cells were found to traffic to the CNS via a glucocorticoid-mediated pathway that involved induction of adhesion molecules including intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in the meninges (Lewitus et al, 2008). T-cell trafficking to the brain during stress was shown to reduce stress-induced anxiety-like behavior and reverse stress-induced decreases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) that is known to stimulate neurogenesis and possess antidepressant effects (Lewitus et al, 2008).…”

“…Interestingly, a similar process has been demonstrated in the context of stress, whereby T cells were found to traffic to the CNS via a glucocorticoid-mediated pathway that involved induction of adhesion molecules including intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in the meninges (Lewitus et al, 2008). T-cell trafficking to the brain during stress was shown to reduce stress-induced anxiety-like behavior and reverse stress-induced decreases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) that is known to stimulate neurogenesis and possess antidepressant effects (Lewitus et al, 2008). From a therapeutic standpoint, urging T cells to traffic to the brain via administration of a CNS-related antigen has been shown to exhibit both an antianxiety and antidepressant effect depending on the animal model (Lewitus and Schwartz, 2009;.…”