LPS-stimulated tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6 mRNA and cytokine responses following acute psychological stress

SummaryThe purpose of this study was to examine the effect of acute psychological stress on LPS-stimulated TNF-α and IL-6 mRNA expression. Twenty-one healthy male subjects participated in 20 min of acute stress. Blood samples for norepinephrine and LPS-stimulated TNF-α and IL-6 cytokines and mRNA were drawn prior to, immediately after and 1-h after stress. Stress-induced increases in anxiety scores, cortisol, plasma norepinephrine, and heart rate demonstrated that the experimental protocol elicited an acute stress response. LPS-stimulated TNF-α mRNA decreased significantly immediately post-stress and partially recovered at 1 h post-stress, whereas LPS-stimulated IL-6 mRNA exhibited a significant change across time, with an increase immediately after stress and a decrease 1 h after stress. Trends in LPS-stimulated TNF-α and IL-6 cytokine concentrations followed the patterns of mRNA expression. A negative correlation of body mass index (BMI) and percent change of LPS-stimulated TNF-α mRNA was observed immediately post-stress, and BMI positively correlated with percent change of LPS-stimulated IL-6 cytokine levels immediately following stress. These findings demonstrated that acute psychological stress affects LPS-stimulated IL-6 and TNF-α gene expression. These results also indicate that BMI may impact the effects of psychological stress on cytokine responses to immune challenge. Further examination of the effects of stress on synthesis of other cellular cytokines and investigation of the association of BMI and stress responses will provide a more clear representation of the cytokine responses to acute psychological stress. In addition, studies examining the influence of gender on the response of immune cell subsets to acute stress and the possible mediating effect of BMI are warranted.