Acute psychological stress increases peripheral blood CD3⁺CD56⁺natural killer T cells in healthy men: possible implications for the development and treatment of allergic and autoimmune disorders

Abstract

Acute psychological stress has primarily been investigated regarding its effects on conventional lymphocytes such as natural killer (NK) cells and CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. However, it might be important to focus on more "specialized" lymphocyte subsets, playing a role, for instance, in allergic conditions and autoimmunity, to identify links between stress, the immune system and somatic diseases. Using flow cytometry we determined frequencies of circulating T helper (Th)1-type (CD226(+)) and Th2-type (CRTH2(+)) T cells, γδ T cells, conventional CD56(+) natural killer T (NKT) cells and invariant NKT cells (iNKT) in healthy young males (N = 31; median age 26 years) undergoing a laboratory computer-based stressor lasting 12 min. We found that acute psychological stress induced a prolonged increase in CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells expressing a Th2 phenotype. We also detected an acute increase in CD4(-) and CD8(-) double negative γδ T cells. Finally, we found that the well-known increase in NK cells under stressful conditions was paralleled by a significant increase in numbers of conventional CD56(+) NKT cells. In contrast, numbers of iNKT was not altered by stress. This study adds further evidence to a psychoneuroimmunological model proposing that under stressful conditions certain lymphocyte subsets, including iNKT and less mature T cells, are retained in lymphoid tissues while antigen-experienced effector-type T cells with a Th2 phenotype, γδ T cells and conventional CD56(+) NKT cells are mobilized into the peripheral blood. We suggest that in the case of frequent stress exposure, this might result in the promotion of, for example, allergic conditions.

The effects of environmental enrichment and transport stress on the weights of lymphoid organs, cell‐mediated immune response, heterophil functions and antibody production in laying hens

“…Transport stress significantly increased the cells under investigation. Similarly, an increase in CD4+ and CD8+ cells has also been reported in poultry (Han et al 2010), mice (Satoh et al 2006), pigs (Qiongxia et al 2009) and humans (Atanackovic et al 2013) exposed to stress. Therefore, an increase in these cells due to transport stress was expected.…”

Stress, ageing and their influence on functional, cellular and molecular aspects of the immune system

“…This also seems to influence more robust immune response upon repeated stimulation with the same antigen months later . This can be beneficial in cases when increased immunoprotection is needed, but detrimental in the cases of immunopathology such as allergic conditions and autoimmune disease (Atanackovic et al 2013;Dhabhar 2009;Dhabhar and Viswanathan 2005).…”

Immunoendocrine alterations following Marine Corps Martial Arts training are associated with changes in moral cognitive processes

“…Catecholamines and cortisol suppress IFN- production [31] and it was unlikely that the increased concentrations observed were a result of an endocrine stimulus. That being said, Atanackovic et al using an acute psychological stress model found increased concentrations of T cells in peripheral circulation following the stress challenge [36]. That same study found no change in circulating iNKT cells [36].…”

“…That being said, Atanackovic et al using an acute psychological stress model found increased concentrations of T cells in peripheral circulation following the stress challenge [36]. That same study found no change in circulating iNKT cells [36]. Other work has shown T cells to be stress responsive lymphocytes mobilized following either psychological or exercise stress in a dose-dependent manner correlated with cardiac activation and exercise intensity [37].…”