A Hassle A Day May Keep The Doctor Away: Short-term Stress, Immune Cell Trafficking, and In Vivo Enhancement of Immune Function

by Prof. Firdaus Dhabhar (Department of Psychiatry, and The Institute for Immunity, Transplantation,and Infection, Stanford University, USA)

Thursday 17 Dec 2009, 02:00 → 03:00 Asia/Kolkata

B-333 (Colaba Campus)

This lecture will pick up where the previous day's Colloquium leaves off. We will focus on hormones, cells, chemokines and cytokines that mediate the immuno-enhancing effects of the fight-or-flight stress response. Stress-induced changes in immune cell trafficking, and the role of adhesion molecules, chemokines and cytokines will be discussed. Short-term stress-induced enhancement of innate and adaptive immune responses will be examined in the context of vaccine-related models of antigen-specific immunity, with a focus on memory cell formation, cytokine gene expression, and dendritic cell maturation and function. Stress-induced enhancement of anti-tumor immunity will be examined in the context of skin cancer with a focus on Type 1 cytokines and T cells. We will conclude by contrasting conditions and mechanisms that mediate the effects of short- versus long-term stress and discuss related clinical implications.