Restraint stress decreases virus-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA expression during acute Theiler's virus infection

Mi, W.; Prentice, T.W.; Young, C.R.; Johnson, R.R.; Sieve, A.N.; Meagher, M.W.; Welsh, C.J.R.

doi:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2006.05.010

« Previous Next »Journal of Neuroimmunology
Volume 178, Issue 1 , Pages 49-61, September 2006

Restraint stress decreases virus-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA expression during acute Theiler's virus infection

W. Mi
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Genetics Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
T.W. Prentice
- Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
C.R. Young
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
R.R. Johnson
- Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
A.N. Sieve
- Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
M.W. Meagher
- Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
C.J.R. Welsh
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Genetics Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Corresponding author. Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4458, USA. Tel.: +1 979 862 4974; fax: +1 979 847 8981.

Received 2 December 2005; received in revised form 13 May 2006; accepted 17 May 2006. published online 11 July 2006.

Abstract

Stressful life events have been associated with the onset and/or exacerbation of multiple sclerosis (MS). Our previous studies have indicated that restraint stress (RS) reduces inflammation and virus-induced chemokine expression in the Theiler's virus-induced demyelination (TVID) model of MS. Here we report that RS significantly reduced the virus-induced interferon-γ mRNA levels in the brain. Additionally, mRNA levels of lymphotoxin-β, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interferon-γ in the brain were negatively correlated with viral titers in the brain. These results indicated an immunosuppressive effect of stress during early TVID causing impaired viral clearance, which may be a potential exacerbating factor for later demyelination.

Keywords: Theiler's virus, Restraint stress, Cytokines