Journal
NATURE
Volume 607, Issue 7919, Pages 578-+Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04890-z
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) [R35 HL135752, P01 HL131478, P01 HL142494]
- Leducq Transatlantic Network of Excellence
- Patricia and Scott Eston MGH Research Scholar
- Canadian Institute of Health Research [CIHR-MM1-174910]
- McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity (MI4)
- German Research Foundation (DFG) [398190272]
- CIHR postdoctoral fellowship
- Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation
- Austrian Science Fund [DK MOLIN-FWF W1241]
- NIH [K99HL151750]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study demonstrates that different brain regions rapidly adjust the distribution and function of leukocytes throughout the body during acute stress, thereby affecting the susceptibility to diseases.
The nervous and immune systems are intricately linked(1). Although psychological stress is known to modulate immune function, mechanistic pathways linking stress networks in the brain to peripheral leukocytes remain poorly understood(2). Here we show that distinct brain regions shape leukocyte distribution and function throughout the body during acute stress in mice. Using optogenetics and chemogenetics, we demonstrate that motor circuits induce rapid neutrophil mobilization from the bone marrow to peripheral tissues through skeletal-muscle-derived neutrophil-attracting chemokines. Conversely, the paraventricular hypothalamus controls monocyte and lymphocyte egress from secondary lymphoid organs and blood to the bone marrow through direct, cell-intrinsic glucocorticoid signalling. These stress-induced, counter-directional, population-wide leukocyte shifts are associated with altered disease susceptibility. On the one hand, acute stress changes innate immunity by reprogramming neutrophils and directing their recruitment to sites of injury. On the other hand, corticotropin-releasing hormone neuron-mediated leukocyte shifts protect against the acquisition of autoimmunity, but impair immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and influenza infection. Collectively, these data show that distinct brain regions differentially and rapidly tailor the leukocyte landscape during psychological stress, therefore calibrating the ability of the immune system to respond to physical threats.
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