Differential effects of active versus passive coping on secretory immunity

Examined the acute immunological effects of 2 laboratory stressors, expected to evoke distinct patterns of cardiac autonomic activity; namely an "active coping" time-paced memory test, and a "passive coping" stressful video showing surgical operations. The authors measured salivary S-IgA, IgA-Subclasses (IgAl, IgA2), and secretory component (SC). SC is responsible for the transport of S-IgA across the epithelium, and thus a rate-determining step in S-IgA secretion. 32 male undergraduates (aged 18-31 yrs) were subjected to both stressors and a control video. The surgical video produced a "conversation-withdrawal"-like response, a decrease in heart rate, and a moderate sympathetic coactivation. For the surgical video, a different pattern emerged: During stressor exposure S-IgA remained unaffected, against the background of a small increase in SC Output. However, 10 min after the surgical video S-IgA levels had decreased. This decrease in S-IgA was paralleled by a decrease in IgAl, but not IgA2. The authors conclude that acute stress can have both enhancing and suppressive effects on secretory immunity, the IgA I subclass in particular. The mechanisms that underlie these divergent responses may include stressor-specific patterns of autonomic activation