Neuroendocrine Immunology

Abstract

The neuroendocrine and immune systems function to preserve organismal homeostasis. The role of the neuroendocrine system is to regulate the effects of various metabolic, osmotic, reproductive, and external stressors on the body, whereas the function of the immune system is to eliminate, or at least control, the presence of foreign organisms and substances. To the casual observer, the functions of the neuroendocrine and immune systems may appear independent. However, abundant data now indicate that the integration of these systems enables survival, through extensive bidirectional communication that couples homeostasis and immune balance. One example of the bidirectional communication between the neuroendocrine and immune systems is the regulation and control of systemic infection, and its attendant stress on the body. As the brain is alerted to septic stress by cytokines released from the immune system, neurotransmitters and hormones are secreted from the nervous and neuroendocrine systems. These factors serve to stimulate both the immune and stress response during the infection, and to downregulate both of these responses when the foreign agent is eliminated. As shown in Fig. 1, achieving immune balance is critical for survival, as too much immunostimulation may lead to autoimmune disease, whereas too little may result in immunosuppression, opportunistic infections, or death. Thus, from a teleologic perspective, bidirectional communication between the neuroendocrine and immune systems coordinates the body’s responses and provides a distinct survival advantage. The goals of this chapter are to detail the communication pathways that exist between the neuroendocrine and immune systems, to describe how such transmissions are integrated, and to document the effects of neuroendocrine-immune interaction on health and disease.KeywordsSystemic Lupus ErythematosusGlucocorticoid ReceptorIllness ResponseCentral Nervous SystemBidirectional CommunicationThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.