Science Current Events | Science News | Brightsurf.com
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print Chronic stress alters our genetic immune response

Chronic stress alters our genetic immune response

August 27, 2008

Most people would agree that stress increases your risk for illness and this is particularly true for severe long-term stresses, such as caring for a family member with a chronic medical illness. However, we still have a relatively limited understanding of exactly how stress contributes to the risk for illness. In the August 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry, researchers shed new light on one link between stress and illness by describing a mechanism through which stress alters immune function.

In a very promising preliminary study, Miller and colleagues found that the pattern of gene expression differed between caregivers of family members with cancer relative to a matched group of individuals who did not have this type of life stress. They found that among the caregivers, even though they had normal cortisol levels in their blood, the pattern of gene expression in the monocytes, a type of white blood cell involved in the body's immune response, was altered so that they were relatively less responsive to the anti-inflammatory actions of cortisol, but relatively more responsive to pro-inflammatory actions of a transcription factor called nuclear factor-kappa B, or NF-κB. Gregory Miller, Ph.D., corresponding author, explains more simply that, although "caregivers have similar cortisol levels as controls, their cells seem to be 'hearing' less of this signal. In other words, something goes awry in caregivers' white blood cells so they are not able to 'receive' the signal from cortisol that tells them to shut down inflammation."




Thus, the current findings might help to explain why the caregivers would seem to be in a chronic pro-inflammatory state, a condition of immunologic activation. This activated state could contribute to the risk for a number of medical illnesses, such as depression, heart disease, and diabetes. Dr. Miller remarks that part of the importance of these findings is "because people have traditionally thought that higher cortisol is the reason that stress contributes to disease, but this work shows that, at least in caregivers, it's actually the opposite - there's too little cortisol signal being heard by the cells, rather than too much."

However, many important related questions still remain unanswered, as noted by John H. Krystal, M.D., Editor of Biological Psychiatry and affiliated with both Yale University School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. He comments that in addition to not knowing how stress produces these altered patterns of gene expression in the immune system, "we don't know how to account for the resilience of some stressed people exposed to severe sustained stress or the vulnerability of some people to relatively mild stress." He adds that "the better that we understand the underlying molecular mechanisms that link stress to illness, the more likely we are to make progress in answering these important questions," and this article is certainly a vital step in that direction.

Elsevier



Related Gene Expression Current Events and Gene Expression News Articles Gene Expression Current Events and Gene Expression News RSS Gene Expression Current Events and Gene Expression News RSS
New gene silencing pathway found in plants
Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis have made major headway in explaining a mechanism by which plant cells silence potentially harmful genes.

Biomedical engineers' detective work reveals antibiotic mechanism
A series of genetic clues led a team of Boston University biomedical engineers to uncover exactly how certain antibiotics kill bacteria. The findings could help rejuvenate the efficacy of older antibiotics and reveal new antibiotic targets within bacterial cells.

Pivotal Emory study focuses on teens at risk for psychosis
Emory University in Atlanta is playing a key role in the largest, most comprehensive study ever funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) of adolescents and young adults at risk for developing a psychotic disorder.

Social interactions can alter gene expression in the brain, and vice versa
Our DNA determines a lot about who we are and how we play with others, but recent studies of social animals (birds and bees, among others) show that the interaction between genes and behavior is more of a two-way street than most of us realize.

Scripps research scientists identify compounds for stem-cell production from adult cells
In the study, the scientists screened known drugs and identified small molecules that could replace conventional reprogramming genes, which can have dangerous side effects.

New research finds markers for esophageal cancer before it develops
Rhode Island Hospital researchers have identified genetic proteins, also known as biomarkers, capable of distinguishing changes at the microscopic level that can signal a precancerous condition in the esophagus.

Type-1 diabetes not so much bad genes as good genes behaving badly, Stanford research shows
Investigators combing the genome in the hope of finding genetic variants responsible for triggering early-onset diabetes may be looking in the wrong place, new research at the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests.

Researchers Apply Systems Biology and Glycomics to Study Human Inflammatory Diseases
An innovative systems biology approach to understanding the carbohydrate structures in cells is leading to new ways to understand how inflammatory illnesses and cardiovascular disease develop in humans. The work was described in two recent publications by University at Buffalo chemical engineers.

First comprehensive genomic study of common cold reveals new treatment targets
Today, scientists from Procter & Gamble (P&G), the University of Calgary and the University of Virginia announced results from the first study to examine the entire human genome's response to the most common cold virus, human rhinovirus.

Novel marker of colon cancer
Colon cancer ranks second of all gastrointestinal malignant tumors, it is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide.
More Gene Expression Current Events and Gene Expression News Articles


Gene Expression and Regulation
by Jun Ma

This book offers a comprehensive look into the science of gene expression and regulation. Focusing on topics such as actions of nuclear receptors, RNA processing, and DNA methylation and imprinting, Gene Expression and Regulation is edited by a leading biologist and includes contributions by experts in the field. Presented in the following five sections, this book covers a full spectrum of...

Methods in Neurosciences: Neuropeptide Technology Gene Expression and Neuropeptide Receptors (Methods in Neurosciences)



Cloning, Gene Expression, and Protein Purification: Experimental Procedures and Process Rationale
by Charles Hardin, Jennifer Edwards, Andrew Riell, David Presutti, William Miller, Dominique Robertson

On the forefront of modern scientific innovation, Cloning, Gene Expression and Protein Purification: Experimental Procedures and Process Rationale effectively doubles as a laboratory manual for students and a reference book for professional researchers. Designed for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in molecular biology, this unique combination lecture/laboratory resource...



Statistical Analysis of Gene Expression Microarray Data

Although less than a decade old, the field of microarray data analysis is now thriving and growing at a remarkable pace. Biologists, geneticists, and computer scientists as well as statisticians all need an accessible, systematic treatment of the techniques used for analyzing the vast amounts of data generated by large-scale gene expression studies. And there is arguably no group better...



Advanced Analysis of Gene Expression Microarray Data (Science, Engineering, and Biology Informatics)
by Aidong Zhang

This book focuses on the development and application of the latest advanced data mining, machine learning, and visualization techniques for the identification of interesting, significant, and novel patterns in gene expression microarray data. Biomedical researchers will find this book invaluable for learning the cutting-edge methods for analyzing gene expression microarray data. Specifically, the...



Bayesian Inference for Gene Expression and Proteomics
by Marina Vannucci

The interdisciplinary nature of bioinformatics presents a challenge in integrating concepts, methods, software, and multi-platform data. Although there have been rapid developments in new technology and an inundation of statistical methodology and software for the analysis of microarray gene expression arrays, there exist few rigorous statistical methods for addressing other types of...



Measuring Gene Expression (Basics (Routledge Paperback))
by Matthew Avison

In the post-genomic age, much biomedical research looks at when, where, and at what level genes are expressed. Measuring Gene Expression: The Basics is an all-in-one introduction to the main methods of measuring gene expression, including RT-PCR, differential display, RNA interference, reporter genes, microarrays, and proteomics, as well as a section on RNA isolation and analysis. There will be...



RNA and the Regulation of Gene Expression: A Hidden Layer of Complexity



Regulation of Gene Expression
by Gary H. Perdew, Jack P. Vanden Heuvel, Jeffrey M. Peters

Regulation of Gene Expression: Molecular Mechanisms presents a comprehensive overview of methods and approaches for characterizing mechanisms of gene regulation. The text is appropriate both as a graduate textbook and a standard laboratory reference and provides the essential groundwork for an advanced understanding of the various mechanisms that may result in altered activity of a specific cell...



Control of Gene Expression by Catecholamines and the Renin-Angiotensin System

The special issue of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry focuses on `Control of Gene Expression by Catecholamines and the Renin-Angiotensin System' in health and disease. In recent years, great progress has been made in the understanding of catecholamine and angiotensin II modulated gene expression. There is also increasing evidence that catecholamine and angiotensin II induced cellular...

© 2008 BrightSurf.com