University of California, Los Angeles, School of Nursing, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Biol Res Nurs. 2011 Apr;13(2):164-74. doi: 10.1177/1099800410383558. Epub 2010 Nov 1.
Proinflammatory activity has been suggested as one of the psychophysiological mechanisms responsible for the health risks associated with stress and mood disorders. There have been limited studies evaluating central immune and hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responses to experimental stress in healthy women. The current study compared, under a controlled condition, the baseline measures and biological and psychological responses to a physical stressor (lumbar puncture [LP]) of healthy women who exhibited an abnormal serum cortisol response (nonresponders [NRs]) to the LP to those of normal controls (responders [Rs]), allowing assessment of stress responsivity and the functional integrity of the feedback system of the HPA axis, sympathetic nervous system (SNS), and neuroimmune axis.
Serum adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1sR, and central IL-1β, IL-6, norepineprhine (NE), corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), and affective states (using the Stress Symptom Rating Questionnaire) were measured in five NRs and seven Rs.
Compared with NR subjects, Rs had significantly higher levels of ACTH and central IL-1β, higher ratings of attention, and lower perceived stress and anxiety. There were no differences between the groups in serum cortisol, IL-6, or IL-1sR or in central IL-6, NE, and CRF.
Women with significantly elevated IL-1β (NRs) responded to an extreme physical stressor with an attenuated HPA system and abnormal subjective ratings compared to healthy women with lower values of central IL-1β. These findings support the suppression of the effects of HPA-axis cortisol on proinflammatory cytokine production. It is possible that these differences in the psychoneuroimmunological profiles of NRs will lead to increased psychobiological vulnerability and predict future health risk.
促炎活性被认为是与压力和情绪障碍相关健康风险的一种心理生理学机制。目前，关于健康女性对实验性应激的中枢免疫和下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴反应，仅有有限的研究进行了评估。本研究在对照条件下，比较了对腰椎穿刺（LP）表现出异常血清皮质醇反应（无反应者[NRs]）的健康女性的基线测量值以及对生理应激源的生物学和心理反应，与正常对照者（反应者[Rs]）相比，这允许评估 HPA 轴、交感神经系统（SNS）和神经免疫轴的应激反应性和反馈系统的功能完整性。
在五名 NRs 和七名 Rs 中测量了血清促肾上腺皮质激素（ACTH）、皮质醇、白细胞介素（IL）-6、IL-1sR 和中枢 IL-1β、IL-6、去甲肾上腺素（NE）、促皮质素释放因子（CRF）以及（使用应激症状评定问卷）情绪状态。
与 NR 组相比，Rs 组的 ACTH 和中枢 IL-1β 水平明显较高，注意力评分较高，感知压力和焦虑程度较低。两组之间在血清皮质醇、IL-6 或 IL-1sR 或中枢 IL-6、NE 和 CRF 方面无差异。
与健康女性中较低的中枢 IL-1β 值相比，IL-1β 水平显著升高（NRs）的女性对极端生理应激源的反应是 HPA 系统减弱和主观评分异常。这些发现支持 HPA 轴皮质醇对促炎细胞因子产生的抑制作用。NRs 的心理神经免疫学特征的这些差异可能导致心理生物学易感性增加，并预测未来的健康风险。
