g. IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α) to ultimately result in the secretion of corticosterone (CORT) from the adrenal glands to the circulation [8]. CORT, in turn, acts to suppress the activation, proliferation, and trafficking of immune cells [9, 10] and plays a role in autoimmune regulation via shifting from Th1/Th17 pro-inflammatory to Th2 antiinflammatory responses [11-13]. Indeed, previous studies have shown that rats producing lower CORT levels (e.g. due to genetic manipulation or adrenalectomy) are more GSI-IX ic50 susceptible to pathogenic autoimmunity [14]. CORT is therefore often used as an immunosuppressor in the clinical treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases [9, 15, 16]. Regardless of the

immunosuppressive effects of CORT, chronic exposure to stress has also been linked with relapse of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis [17, 18] and psoriasis [19, 20]. Paradoxically, these diseases are characterized by a Th1/Th17 pro-inflammatory immune response [21-23], which implies that chronic stress exposure attenuates the immunosuppressive effects of CORT [24, 25]. It has also been suggested

that CORT click here may affect regulatory T (Treg) cells which play a central role in protecting against autoimmune diseases [26-29]. The present study aims to explore the effects of chronic stress on immunoregulatory mechanisms that directly control autoimmunity. To this end, we subjected C57BL/6 mice to 24 days of chronic variable stress (CVS). This well-established paradigm consists of different stressful stimuli randomly introduced for different durations to minimize adaption, and thereby model the diversity of stressful events in daily human life [30]. As a model for autoimmune disease susceptibility we tested the mice’ susceptibility to EAE and the course of its development. To examine the behavioral effects of CVS, we tested stressed and nonstressed C57BL/6 mice for anxiety-like behaviors. We used a CVS model that was found to affect both physiological and psychological PRKACG parameters and particularly immune functions [31]. In contrast to short and predictable stress, long-lasting exposure

to unpredictable stressors avoids habituation to stress and induce hallmark characteristics of overexposure to corticosteroids. The stress paradigm lasted 24 days as detailed in Table 1 and in Material and methods. Both female and male mice demonstrated clear and significant anxiety-like behaviors following the 24-day experimental period (Fig. 1A and B). Specifically, as compared with nonstressed mice, stressed male and female mice showed less entries (p < 0.001) and spent less time in the open arms of an elevated plus maze (p < 0.01) (Supporting Information Fig. 1A and B), and spent more time in the peripheral zones of an open-field arena (p < 0.001; Supporting Information Fig. 1C). Stressed mice also gained less weight during the 24-day CVS period, such that their body weight did not change significantly as compared with their initial body weight (Fig.