Short and long restraint differentially affect humoral and cellular immune functions

The aim of this work was to examine the effect of different periods of restraint on the humoral and cellular immune functions in adult male rats. Short restraint stress (2 h over 2 consecutive days) enhanced the primary serum antibody response to sheep red blood cells. The enhancement of this humoral response was dependent on the restraint period, since long restraint stress (6 h over 4 days) failed to modify this response. Short and long restraint decreased both the number of lymphocytes and the T-lymphocyte response to Con A stimulation in the peripheral blood. Neither 2 h over 2 days nor 6 h over 4 days modified the splenic lymphoproliferative response to Con A stimulation, but restraint stress progressively decreased the number of mononuclear splenic cells. Both periods of restraint significantly increased plasma concentration of corticosterone, however plasma prolactin levels were significantly lower after 4 days of restraint but not after short restraint (2 h over 2 days). These results indicate that although some immune functions can be increased after acute or short stress, long stress has an immunosuppressive effect, above all on the cellular immunity which is more susceptible to this effect than the humoral response.