Title
The flight response impairs cytoprotective mechanisms by activating the insulin pathway
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Neurobiology; Alkema Lab; Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Neuroscience Program
Publication Date
2019-08-28
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Biological Phenomena, Cell Phenomena, and Immunity | Cells | Cellular and Molecular Physiology | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience | Nervous System | Neuroscience and Neurobiology | Physiological Processes
Abstract
An animal's stress response requires different adaptive strategies depending on the nature and duration of the stressor. Whereas acute stressors, such as predation, induce a rapid and energy-demanding fight-or-flight response, long-term environmental stressors induce the gradual and long-lasting activation of highly conserved cytoprotective processes(1-3). In animals across the evolutionary spectrum, continued activation of the fight-or-flight response weakens the animal's resistance to environmental challenges(4,5). However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate the trade-off between the flight response and long-term stressors are poorly understood. Here we show that repeated induction of the flight response in Caenorhabditis elegans shortens lifespan and inhibits conserved cytoprotective mechanisms. The flight response activates neurons that release tyramine, an invertebrate analogue of adrenaline and noradrenaline. Tyramine stimulates the insulin-IGF-1 signalling (IIS) pathway and precludes the induction of stress response genes by activating an adrenergic-like receptor in the intestine. By contrast, long-term environmental stressors, such as heat or oxidative stress, reduce tyramine release and thereby allow the induction of cytoprotective genes. These findings demonstrate that a neural stress hormone supplies a state-dependent neural switch between acute flight and long-term environmental stress responses and provides mechanistic insights into how the flight response impairs cellular defence systems and accelerates ageing.
Keywords
Molecular neuroscience, Neurophysiology
DOI of Published Version
10.1038/s41586-019-1524-5
Source
Nature. 2019 Aug 28. doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1524-5. [Epub ahead of print] Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Nature
Related Resources
PubMed ID
31462774
Repository Citation
De Rosa, Maria Jose; Veuthey, Tania; Florman, Jeremy; Grant, Jeff; Blanco, Maria Gabriela; Andersen, Natalia; Donnelly, Jamie L.; Rayes, Diego; and Alkema, Mark J., "The flight response impairs cytoprotective mechanisms by activating the insulin pathway" (2019). Neurobiology Publications and Presentations. 249.
https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/neurobiology_pp/249