Journal
PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY
Volume 106, Issue -, Pages 268-276Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.03.026
Keywords
Psychosocial stress; Mitochondria; Neuroendocrine; Mitokine; Psychobiology; Cell-free DNA
Categories
Funding
- NIH [GM119793, MH113011, NR08237, GM110424]
- Wharton Fund
- FONDECYT [3150623]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Intrinsic biological mechanisms transduce psychological stress into physiological adaptation that requires energy, but the role of mitochondria and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in this process has not been defined in humans. Here, we show that similar to physical injury, exposure to psychological stress increases serum circulating cell-free mtDNA (ccf-mtDNA) levels. Healthy midlife adults exposed on two separate occasions to a brief psychological challenge exhibited a 2-3-fold increase in ccf-mtDNA, with no change in ccf-nuclear DNA levels, establishing the magnitude and specificity for ccf-mtDNA reactivity. In cell-based studies, we show that glucocorticoid signaling - a consequence of psychological stress in humans - is sufficient to induce mtDNA extrusion in a time frame consistent with stress-induced ccf-mtDNA increase. Collectively, these findings provide evidence that acute psychological stress induces ccf-mtDNA and implicate neuroendocrine signaling as a potential trigger for ccf-mtDNA release. Further controlled work is needed to confirm that observed increases in ccf-mtDNA result from stress exposure and to determine the functional significance of this effect.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available