Prenatal stress has pro-inflammatory consequences on the immune system in adult rats

SummaryThe in utero environment is critical for initiating the ontogeny of several physiological systems, including the immune surveillance. Yet, little is known about adverse early experiences on the offspring's immunity and vulnerability to disease. The present work aimed at investigating the impact of restraint prenatal stress (PS) on the development and responsiveness of in vitro and in vivo cellular and humoral immunity of male progeny aged 7 weeks and 6 months. In adult 6-month-old rats, we detected increased circulating CD8+-expressing and NK cells in PS rats as compared to controls, associated with higher mRNA expression of IFN-γ. In addition, in vitro stimulation with phytohemagglutinin-A induced an increase in both the proliferation of T lymphocytes and the secretion of IFN-γ in PS rats. Interestingly, these alterations were undetectable in younger PS rats (7-week old), except for a slight increase in the mRNA expression of several pro-inflammatory cytokines in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Moreover, in vivo neutralization of IFN-γ in young rats had no effects in PS group. In conclusion, we report for the first time long-lasting pro-inflammatory consequences of PS in rats.