Lactation alters the effects of conditioned stress on immune function

During lactation, endocrine function is altered and stress responses are dampened. Stress effects on immune function are partially determined by endocrine factors; therefore, we assessed whether stress similarly alters immune function during lactation. Sprague-Dawley rats were conditioned by exposure to a tone paired with foot shock (2 sessions, 16 shocks each) prior to breeding or were left undisturbed. Lactating (day 10) (Lac) and nonlactating diestrous virgin controls (C) were killed immediately after reexposure to the tone or removal from their home cage. Plasma corticosterone stress responses were dampened in Lac relative to C animals. Peripheral blood lymphocyte proliferation to T cell receptor antibody stimulation was reduced to a similar extent in both experimental groups. Conditioned stress reduced splenocyte proliferation and increased nitrite accumulation in C animals, but not in Lac animals. Mesenteric lymph node lymphocyte proliferation was significantly increased after stress in Lac compared with C animals. Both plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) and phytohemagglutinin-stimulated splenic IL-6 production were increased in Lac animals compared with C animals after stress exposure. These data indicate that stress-induced alterations may be determined by different regulatory mechanisms within immune compartments and that these effects depend on the physiological state of the organism.