INDIVIDUAL FEATURES OF THE RESPONSE OF THE HUMAN IMMUNITY SYSTEM TO A SHORT-TERM STAY IN AIRCOOLED TO -25°C

Abstract

The study of the influence of cold on the individual characteristics of the response of the human immune system is of great importance from the standpoint of ensuring the adaptive reactions of a person’s stay among extreme environmental factors. Purpose of the study. To establish the individual characteristics of the response of the human immune system to a short-term stay in an air environment cooled to -25°C. Materials and methods. A complex of immunological studies of the composition of the peripheral venous blood of the examined practically healthy volunteers (132 women and 40 men) living in the city of Arkhangelsk, aged from 21 to 50 years, was carried out. Blood was collected from the cubital vein on an empty stomach in the morning before and immediately after total cooling for 5 minutes at a temperature of -25°C. Results. It was found that 14.53% of the examined people are sensitive to general cooling and have an initial high level of background activity of the immune system. These individuals reacted by decreasing the level of lymphocytes in the blood by 1.5-4.5 times due to all functional forms of lymphocytes and by increasing the concentration of ATP in lymphocytes. A decrease in the lymphocyte count in response to general cooling is associated with an increase in the concentration of pro-inflammatory IL-6 and cortisol without changes in the content of IL-1β, IL-4 and IL-10. Conclusion. The effect of cold on the human body leads to a decrease in the number of lymphocytes in the venous blood in 14.53% of cases, which can be explained by a decrease in the blood flow velocity in the vascular bed and the transition of lymphocytes to the parietal pool, as well as, probably, by an increase in the production of TNF-α, under the influence of which there is a transendothelial migration of lymphocytes into the tissue.