Time-dependent enhancement of lymphocyte activation by mitogens after exposure to isolation or water scheduling

The effects of isolation and water scheduling on mitogen induced lymphocyte proliferation were investigated. Isolated rats were animals which had been raised in group-housed conditions and then transferred to individual cages with ad lib access to water for a 1 or 2 week period. Water scheduled rats were maintained in group housing (5 rats per cage) with ad lib access to food but with access to water for a single 30 minute session each day. Responses of these groups were compared to those of animals which had been continuously group-housed with ad lib access to food and water. No differences in lymphocyte responses to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) were found 1 week after exposure to isolation. However, after 2 weeks, splenic and blood T lymphocytes from isolated animals demonstrated an increased proliferative response to suboptimum and maximum concentrations of PHA. Splenic B lymphocyte responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from isolated animals were also increased by 2- to 3-fold compared to group-housed controls. Two weeks of exposure of animals to daily water scheduling similarly increased the splenic lymphocyte proliferation. This increased responsiveness to PHA was not accompanied by a significant change in the sensitivity of the lymphocytes to PHA, in the total number of white blood cells, or the proportion of splenic T or T helper lymphocytes. Our results show that the increase in lymphocyte proliferation is time-dependent, requires greater than 1 week of exposure to isolation and is due to factors other than changes in sensitivity to mitogen or T lymphocyte number.