PLoS ONE (Jan 2024)

Chronically stressed male and female mice show a similar peripheral and central pro-inflammatory profile after an immune challenge.

  • Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga,
  • T John Wu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297776
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 19, no. 2
p. e0297776

Abstract

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Although acute stressors are known for stimulating the production of glucocorticoids and pro-inflammatory cytokines in rodents, the effects of chronic stressors on cytokine levels and the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, especially in response to a subsequent challenge, are less clear. In this study, male and female mice were exposed to 6 weeks of chronic variable stress (CVS) and the peripheral and central levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, as well as the HPA axis reactivity, were measured after an acute injection of LPS. The findings indicate that the pro-inflammatory profile in the plasma, regardless of stress exposure, was similar between male and female animals, whereas there was a region-, sex-, and stress-dependent pattern in the brain. Exposure to chronic stressors blunted the HPA reactivity to the LPS challenge, indicating a modulatory effect on the stress axis responsiveness.