Effect of chronic stress and chewing on serum interleukin-6 and interferon-gamma levels

Introduction: chronic stress affects the immune balance by altering the serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and gamma interferon (INF-γ), this alteration affects the nervous system and human behavior. Appropriate chewing would lessen these effects. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of chewing and chronic stress over serum levels of IL-6 and INF-γ. Methods: experiment in which 64 Balb/C mice of 8 weeks of age were used, they were divided into 4 treatments: Group NE: Normal chewing + stress, Group N: normal chewing without stress, Group DE: Chewing poor + stress, Group D: poor chewing without stress. IL-6 and IFN-γ were measured by ELISA after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment. Results: both IL-6 and IFN-γ were higher in the DE group (p <0,05) at the end of fourth week of treatment. When evaluating the animals at the end of the eighth week of treatment, it was observed that in the NE group, the IL-6 was increased with respect to the rest (p <0,0001) and the DE group showed more IFN-γ (p <0,0001). Conclusion: stress and poor chewing increase serum IL-6 and IFN-γ. In contrast, appropriate chewing decreases the effects of stress on the increase of such cytokines at the end of the fourth week of treatment in animals.