[The effect of stress on interferon production in mice]

In order to study the effect of stress on the interferon (IFN) production, we determined the IFN-alpha/beta and -gamma producing capacities in restraint-stressed and SART-stressed mice. Restraint-stress caused not only a significant reduction in body weight, but also a reduction in the weight of spleen. The IFN-alpha/beta producing capacity by Newcastle disease virus (NDV) was significantly lower in the stressed mice. The IFN-gamma producing capacity by both Con-A and PHA-P was also depressed by this stress. On the other hand, SART-stress, whose severity was thought to be mild because no loss of body and spleen weights was seen, did not affect IFN-alpha/beta and -gamma producing capacities. These results suggest that the suppression of IFN producing capacity is dependent on the severity of physical stress.