Red blood cell on lymphocyte proliferation in rats with chronic unpredictable mild stress

Objective To study the changes of rat red blood cells on T, B lymphocytes proliferation in chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). Methods Thirty Wistar rats were averagely divided into control group and the CUMS group. The relevant behavioral performance and red blood cells on lymphocytes prolifer-ation Changes by MTT colorimetric were observed. Results After fourteen days, the growth of weight and or-ganic coefficient of brain decreased in model group (P<0.05), with a significantly reduced consumption and preference of sucrose solutions, and increased pure water consumption as compared with control group (P< 0.05). Plasma corticosterone levels peaked at seven days but on a declining trend after fourteen days. The rate of red blood cells on T, B lymphocyte proliferation in depression group was lower than non-stress in 7, 14, 21 days (P<0.05). Conclusion The repeated chronic mild stress stimulation can induce long-time changes in acts and activities and decrease the rate of red blood cells on T, B lymphocytes proliferation, which can pro-vide a new experimental method to observe the red blood cell immune function under the stress. Key words: Stress;  Depressive disorder;  Erythrocytes;  Lymphocytosis