Containing high concentration of vanadium served by the volcanic bedrock, Jeju ground water has long been known for various implicit health benefits including immune-promotion. Exposure to stress has been reported to be associated with immunosuppression such as reducing lymphocyte population or antibody production due to stress hormones. In this study, we aimed at evaluating the effects of Jeju ground water on chronically stressed mice. C57BL/6 mice were subjected to various stressors such as restraint stress, water swimming stress, heat stress, acoustic stress, and Jeju ground water was supplied for 28 days with two different concentrations, S1 (vanadium 15-20 μg/l, pH 8.3) and S2 (vanadium 20-25 μg/l, pH 8.5). Treatment with Jeju ground water increased CD4+CD8- or CD4-CD8+ single-positive thymocytes. It also increased the proliferation of splenocytes and the populations of CD4+ T cells, CD45R/B220+ B cells, CD11b+ macrophages or Gr-1+ granulocytes in spleen. In addition, the production of IgG was increased in chronically stressed mice by treatment with Jeju ground water. These results suggest vanadium-rich Jeju ground water may be helpful in T cell development in thymus and immune cell proliferation and its function in spleen against chronic stress.
Keywords: Chronic stress; Immune activation; Jeju ground water; T cell development.