Social status modulates basal IL-1 concentrations in the hypothalamus of pair-housed rats and influences certain features of stress reactivity.

Recent findings from our laboratory and others indicate that exposure to stress can increase expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1). In a series of studies examining this response, we observed pronounced differences in baseline levels of hypothalamic IL-1 of pair-housed rats. We hypothesized that these pair-wise differences might be a result of prolonged social stress associated with dominance/submissiveness, and that the submissive animal would show heightened baseline levels of IL-1. In order to test this hypothesis, we utilized a food competition paradigm (access to cheerios) to assess dominance within a dyad prior to the assessment of hypothalamic IL-1 levels. Based on the results of this test, clear dominance hierarchies were observed in approximately 50% of the dyads, a ratio comparable to what has been reported previously. More importantly, this dominant/submissive categorization could be used to predict pair-wise differences in hypothalamic IL-1 with greater than 90% accuracy. Specifically, the submissive rat in each dyad (determined a priori) consistently evinced hypothalamic IL-1 levels that were nearly double that of its dominant cage mate. Further studies demonstrated that submissive rats showed a more rapid and pronounced hyperthermic response to novel environment stress relative to dominant rats. Interestingly, social status had no effect on corticosterone reactivity, even when the nature and intensity of the stressor was varied. Finally, maintenance of a clear dominance hierarchy obfuscated hypothalamic IL-1 responses to footshock exposure, with the most robust increases in hypothalamic IL-1 provoked by footshock being observed in pairs where there was no clear dominance hierarchy. Together, these findings suggest that social status can have a significant impact on stress reactivity and neuroimmune consequences of stressor exposure even in the unperturbed home cage environment.