Sci Adv: Cell levels observe how "stress" is produced

February 2, 2021 /--- long-term pressures may be common in our time.
long term, stress can lead to metabolic diseases and accelerate aging, leading to more serious mental illnesses.
of stress originated in the brain, which moves along the so-called "stress axis", which terminates in the adrenal glands.
these glands then produce the hormone cortisol.
as the pressure axis is constantly activated, changes occur in cells and organs along the way, while the continued production of cortisol contributes significantly to chronic stress symptoms.
stress axis begins in the hypotheroid of the brain, passes through the pituitary gland, and then reaches the adrenal glands near the kidneys.
scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Germany used new technology to observe the entire stress axis, their findings were published in Science Advance.
(Photo: www.pixabay.com) The new study, led by Dr. Juan Pablo Lopez, a postdoctoral fellow at the Weizmann Institute of Science and Professor Alon Chen of the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry, uses a relatively new technique to enable researchers to identify differences.
all cell types across tissues.
this approach is similar to identifying individual fruits in a bowl of fruit salad, rather than the standard way to turn a fruit salad into a "smooth" one and then try to identify the average characteristics of all fruits.
in this case, however, the task is much more complex than separating apples from oranges: Pablo Lopez and the team mapped the entire length of the stress axis and examined the activity of many individual cells along the path.
they analyzed two groups of mice - one without stress and one with chronic stress.
, the team mapped 21,723 cells at three points on the axis and compared the findings of two groups of mice.
note that as stress information shifts from one organ to another, the gene expression of cells and tissues themselves changes significantly.
the team found changes in 66 genes between normal hypothyroid and stress mice, 692 genes in the pituitary gland and up to 922 genes in the adrenal glands.
adrenal glands are glands that can significantly change their size under chronic stress exposure, and it is here that the researchers note the most significant changes between cells.
technology allows researchers to identify for the first time subpopular groups of adrenal cells that may play a key role in stress response and adaptation.
these are endocrine cells located in the outer layer or adrenal cortical.
, the team identified a gene called Abcb1b and found that it was expressed in these cells under stress.
the gene encodes a pump on the cell membrane that expels material from the cell, which scientists believe works in the release of cortisol.
additional stress hormones are produced, cells need additional release valves to release them," said Pablo Lopez, a team of patients.
the discovery in the "humans" mice related to humans? Working with researchers at university hospitals in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and the US, scientists obtained adrenal glands removed from patients to relieve symptoms of Cushing's disease.
Although the disease is the result of pituitary growth, it may have the same results as chronic stress (weight gain and metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, depression or irritability), so in some cases it can be treated by removing the adrenal glands, thereby reducing the stress hormone load in patients.
, the cells in the adrenal glands of these patients showed images similar to those of mice in the chronic stress group.
researchers learned about the gene Abcb1 they identified from previous studies of depression genetics.
has been found to be polymorphic, has multiple variants, and at least one is associated with a higher risk of depression.
team analyzed the expression of the variant in blood tests from a group of subjects with depression and temporary stress.
found that some variants do affect the way the adrenal glands process pressure signals from the axis.
source: .com on per cell: Mapping the axis in detail Source: Juan Pablo Lopez et al. Single-cell molecular profiling of all three components of the HPA axis reveals adrenal ABCB1 as a regulator of stress adaptation, Science Advances (2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abe4497