Basal T Cell Subpopulations of Normal Humans Vary by Stress Hormone Receptor Polymorphisms

Background: Psychological stress has been correlated with allergy and asthma activity although there are clearly individual differences in the responses to the same stressor.  These individual differences could be influenced  by stress hormone receptor binding affinity, which could be altered by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). 

Methods: We categorized differences in immunoregulatory profiles from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 207 normal volunteers  according to  various glucocorticoid (GCR) and beta-2 adrenergic receptor (B2AR) polymorphisms.  Subjects were genotyped for SNPs by real time RT-PCR, and   Th1, Th2, Th1/Th2 ratio, and CD3+CD4+CD25hiFoxp3+ cell numbers were measured using flow cytometry. Each immune parameter in the SNP groups was compared to the wild-type (WT) gene. 

Results: Significant differences were observed in B2AR SNPs Gly16Arg for Th2 (means: WT gly/gly, 1.89; arg/arg, 2.58; p=0.003) and Th1/Th2 ratio (medians: WT gly/gly, 10.18; arg/arg, 6.89; p=0.004) and Gln27Glu for Th1 (means: WT gln/gln, 17.21; gln/glu, 19.4 p=0.031; glu/glu, 19.82 p=0.049). No differences were observed based upon GCR SNPs tested (BCL1; NC363S; TTh1111; A3669G).

Conclusions: These data suggest that SNPs from various components of the stress-immune network (such as hormone and cytokine promoters and receptors) may be useful for  subgrouping of immune responses to more accurately evaluate psychoneuroimmunological components of stress risk in individual subjects. This approach has significant clinical potentials in identifying those patients who may be most susceptible to stress effects on their immune balance..