Stress-protective and immunomodulatory effects of Semax under experimental informational stress

Objective: to study the stress-protective and immunomodulatory effects of Semax under conditions of informational stress. Materials and methods. The study deals with stress-protective and immunocorrective effects of Semax (Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro) under conditions of experimental informational stress which was performed on white non-linear male rats. The formation of a stress reaction under the conditions of informational impact was confirmed by the presence of a stress triad, including adrenal hypertrophy, a decrease in the number of eosinophils in the peripheral blood and the presence of erosive-ulcerative lesions of the gastric mucosa. In addition, to assess the reactivity of the organism, the adaptation intensity index according to L.Kh. Garkavi was used as an indicator of the balance of the response of blood cells to the stress factor. Functional activity of the immune system of laboratory animals was assessed on the basis of standard immunopharmacological tests: delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction (DTH), direct agglutination test (DAT), latex test for studying the phagocytic activity of peripheral blood neutrophils, evaluation of changes in the leukocyte formula. Results. It has been established that under conditions of information stress, changes in the immune response are multidirectional that confirms the theory of “immune imbalance” under the action of stress factors. As a result of studying the influence of Semax under conditions of informational stress, it was found that the drug manifested itself as an effective stress protector and immunocorrector, reducing stress-reactive manifestations, restoring cellular and humoral immunogenesis, as well as neutrophil phagocytic activity. Conclusion. This study expands the scientific research base in the field of immune reaction under stress-induced conditions, with the aim of further developing a pharmacological strategy for correcting the revealed violations by means of substances of a neuropeptide structure.

informational stress, Semax, delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reactions, direct agglutination test (DAT), phagocytic index (PhI), phagocytic number (PhN)