Effects of sleep and circadian rhythm on the human immune system

✍ Scribed by Tanja Lange; Stoyan Dimitrov; Jan Born

• Book ID: 111399650
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 344 KB
• Volume: 1193
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0890-6564
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05300.x

✦ Synopsis

Many immune parameters show systematic fluctuations over the 24‐h day in human blood. Circulating naive T‐cells and production of proinflammatory cytokines, like interleukin‐12 (IL‐12), peak during nighttime, whereas cytotoxic effector leukocytes and production of the anti‐inflammatory cytokine IL‐10 peak during daytime. These temporal changes originate from a combined influence of the circadian system and sleep. Both brain functions act synergistically and share neuroendocrine effector mechanisms to convey control over immune functions. Sympathetic tone and cortisol levels show a circadian nadir during nighttime and are further suppressed by sleep, whereas growth hormone and prolactin show a circadian peak during nighttime and are further enhanced by sleep. Thus, the circadian system and sleep jointly evoke a unique endocrine constellation that is extremely effective in inducing changes in leukocyte traffic and a shift toward proinflammatory type 1‐cytokines during the nocturnal period of sleep, that is, an action with strong clinical implications.