IMMUNE-RESPONSES IN HUMANS AFTER 60 DAYS OF CONFINEMENT

A confinement experiment in a normobaric diving chamber was undertaken to better understand the effect of confinement and isolation on human psychology and physiology. Pre- and postconfinement blood samples wer e obtained from four test subjects and control donors to analyze immun e responses. No modification in the levels of CD2(+), CD3(+), CD4(+), CD8(+), CD19(+), and CD56(+) cells was observed after confinement. Mit ogen-induced T-lymphocyte proliferation and interleukin-2 receptor exp ression were not altered significantly. Whole blood interferon-alpha a nd -gamma induction and plasma cortisol levels were also unchanged, as was natural killer cell activity. These data suggest that in humans, no specific components of the immune response are affected by a 2-mont h isolation and confinement of a small group. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.