THE EFFECTS OF ACUTE PSYCHOLOGIC STRESS ON CELLULAR ADHESION MOLECULES

Cellular adhesion molecules, or CAMs, constitute a family of cell-surf ace receptors responsible for mediating interactions among leukocytes, platelets, and vascular endothelium. This pilot study (N=22 healthy m en and women) examined the effects of a 6-minute speaking stressor on several CAMs, including L-selectin, ICAM-1, and the integrins. The psy chologic stressor caused a significant decrease in L-selectin (p=0.04) . Significant task by gender interactions indicated that during stress women increased whereas men decreased in 3 markers of the integrin fa mily, LFA-1, LFA-2, and LFA-3 (all p<0.05). There was no significant t ask effect on ICAM-1 nor group differences in state anger or anxiety r atings following the task. Across all subjects, the changes (task minu s baseline) in LFA-1 and LFA-2 were negatively correlated with the sub jects' age (r==-0.49, p=0.02 and r=-0.53, p=0.01, respectively), indic ating that older subjects showed less change in these markers than did younger subjects. These preliminary findings suggest that the immune activation that accompanies acute psychologic stress may be sufficient to alter the expression of certain cellular adhesion molecules. Furth er study should be directed towards determining whether cellular adhes ion molecule expression is altered equally across various leukocyte su bsets or is restricted to specific cell types.