The Impact of High Anxiety Level on Cellular and Humoral Immunity in Mice

Abstract

Background/Aims: In the present study, we aimed to examine whether a high anxiety level affects various parameters of immunity in mice. Methods: We used the behavioral light/dark choice test to evaluate whether high anxiety has an impact on various parameters of cellular (granulocytes, monocytes, total lymphocytes, TCD4⁺, TCD8⁺ and NK numbers) and humoral (IgA, E and G concentrations) immunity. Secondly, we investigated whether the cellular and humoral immune systems of mice with contrasting levels of anxiety responded differently to stressors (such as physical restraint) by monitoring blood markers of the both types of immunity. Results: High levels of anxiety inhibited part of the cellular and humoral immune systems by significantly decreasing total lymphocytes numbers (including TCD4⁺ and TCD8⁺) and immunoglobulin (A and E) concentrations. However, no significant changes in the number of granulocytes, monocytes or NK cells were observed. As a consequence, overall, our results suggest that high anxiety led to a decrease in the efficiency of the immune system of anxious mice. On the other hand, our findings also showed that restraint stress (acute and subacute) produced the same immunological profile as high anxiety in mice. This was independent of the animals’ anxiety status. At the same time, we observed that restraint stress produced significant increases in the levels of granulocytes and monocytes. Conclusions: High anxiety and restraint stress exerted adverse effects on cellular and humoral immunity in mice. While the effect of restraint stress was independent of the anxiety levels in mice, this stress led to an aggravation of the immune response from the high degree of anxiety. Therefore, anxious subjects could be more vulnerable to infections and inflammation, particularly when they are exposed to stressful situations.

Alterations in anxiety-like behavior following knockout of the uncoupling protein 2 (ucp2) gene in mice

“…However, a correlation between intracellular ROS levels and high anxiety has been found in mice (Bouayed et al, 2009;Hovatta et al, 2005;Kromer et al, 2005;Rammal et al, 2008a;Rammal et al, 2008b). It has been hypothesized that oxidative stress might be responsible for an immune perturbation in highly anxious mice (Rammal et al, 2010). Also, psychological stress induces oxidative stress by reducing antioxidant defenses (Zafir and Banu, 2009).…”

Evaluation of the Humoral Immune Response of Wistar Rats Submitted to Forced Swimming and Treated with Fluoxetine

“…Hawley et al (2006) showed that stress caused by high social competition in birds involves a lower production of anti-sheep erythrocytes. Rammal et al (2010) found that anxious mice produced fewer IgA and IgE antibodies than their nonanxious counterparts, and when both groups were subjected to restraint stress, it appears that all studied antibodies (IgA, IgE and IgG) were suppressed in both groups. On the other hand, Guéguinou et al (2011) analyzed the natural antibodies of mice subjected to a rotational velocity model (2 and 3 G-force) for 21 days and found an increase in IgG levels of animals subjected to 2Gs.…”

Risk of herpes zoster among patients with psychiatric diseases: a population‐based study

“…Rammal et al. have shown that high levels of anxiety and restraint stress can impair cellular and humoral immunity in mice by decreasing T lymphocyte numbers and immunoglobulin concentrations 6 . In human studies, psychosocial stress appeared to reduce immunological control over latent herpes virus, 13 and particularly VZV as demonstrated by Irwin et al.…”

“…Furthermore, suppressed immune response has frequently been reported in association with psychiatric disorders. Animal models have shown that cellular and hormonal immune systems are inhibited in highly anxious mice, leading to impaired immune response 6 . Research has also suggested that psychological stress, anxiety and depression exert an adverse effect on immune function and increase susceptibility to infection 7–10 .…”