Immunology of Infectious Disease Commons^™

The Impacts Of Psychological Stress On Innate-Like Invariant T Cell Survival, Phenotype, And Function, Patrick Rudak

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The nervous system serves numerous critical roles in the regulation of immune responses. Consequently, psychological stress can result in immunosuppressive states that are conducive to the development of infection and cancer. Yet, whether stress impacts the functions of innate-like T lymphocytes including invariant natural killer T (iNKT) and mucosa-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, which participate in early host defense against pathogens and tumors, remains poorly understood. In this thesis, I leveraged multiple established methods with which to induce psychological stress in mice. I demonstrate that T_H1- and T_H2-type immune responses initiated by iNKT …