Effect of cold stress on immunity in rats

An increase in the morbidity of upper respiratory tract infections and the attack and exacerbation of autoimmune diseases has been observed to occur in the few days following sudden environmental temperature decreases, but the mechanisms for these phenomena are not well understood. To determine the effect of a sudden ambient temperature drop on the levels of stress hormones and T-lymphocyte cytokines in the plasma, the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression of immunocompetent cells in rat spleens and the levels of regulatory T (Treg) cells in the peripheral blood, Sprague Dawley rats were divided into three groups of different ambient temperatures (20, 4 and -12°C). In each group, there were four observation time-points (1, 12, 24 and 48 h). Each ambient temperature group was subdivided into non-stimulation, lipopolysaccharide-stimulation and concanavalin A-stimulation groups. The levels of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), epinephrine (EPI), angiotensin-II (ANG-II), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), IL-4 and IL-10 in the plasma were determined using ELISA. The cellular expression levels of TLR4 and the presence of cluster of differentiation (CD)4⁺CD25⁺ and CD4⁺CD25⁺Forkhead box P3 (Foxp3)⁺ cells were determined using flow cytometry. The experiments demonstrated that the ACTH, EPI, ANG-II and IL-10 levels in the plasma were significantly increased at 4 and -12°C compared with those at 20°C, while the plasma levels of IFN-γ, IL-2 and IL-4, the TLR4 expression rates of immunocompetent cells in the rat spleen and the percentage of CD4⁺CD25⁺Foxp3⁺ Treg cells among the CD4⁺CD25⁺ Treg cells in the peripheral blood were decreased at 4 and -12°C compared with those at 20°C. These data indicate that cold stress affects the stress hormones and the innate and adaptive immunity functions in rats.