Chronic exposure to environmental stressors enhances production of natural and specific antibodies in rats

BELDOMENICO M; VALDEZ SUSANA; BELDOMENICO M; CUERVO P; VALDEZ SUSANA; PIETROBON E; CUERVO P; PIETROBON E; SANCHEZ AMORINA; RACCA ANDREA; SANCHEZ AMORINA; RACCA ANDREA

JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART A-ECOLOGICAL GENETICS AND PHYSIOLOGY

WILEY-LISS, DIV JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Lugar: New York; Año: 2018 vol. 329 p. 536 - 546

2471-5638

Although the immunosuppressive effect of chronic stress has been established, astress response that downregulates the whole immune system does not makebiological sense, especially if an animal has to endure difficult times in which there isalso increased infection risk. At high animal densities, animals are faced simultaneouslywith food restriction (FR), social conflict (SC), and greater parasite?pathogenexposure. We hypothesized that the stress response to chronic stressors that covarywith infection risk is not entirely immunosuppressive. Our prediction was that achronically stressed animal would respond by enhancing innate defenses, whilereducing investment in acquired immunity. In a laboratory setting, rats were exposedto prolonged FR and/or SC, and natural and specific antibody levels were repeatedlymeasured. Our prediction was fulfilled only partly, as FR and SC interacted toenhance natural antibodies, but rats exposed to either or both stressors also showedsignificantly higher levels of specific antibodies. These results suggest that, in the rat,chronic stress results in a prioritization of both innate and acquired humoraldefenses, which makes biological sense provided the stressors examined usuallysignal an increased infection risk.