Stress may affect bone marrow and immunity via the gut |
Researchers have mapped a new biological pathway connecting psychological stress to aging blood-forming stem cells that runs through the gut.
In a study published in Cell Stem Cell, a team at Sun Yat-sen University in China put mice through chronic psychological stress and tracked their hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), the cells in bone marrow that generate the entire blood and immune system. Stress weakened the mice’s HSCs, cutting their ability to regenerate and reducing production of lymphocytes, a key immune cell type.
The mechanism traced back to two stress-responsive brain regions, which relayed signals through the sympathetic nervous system to the intestine. There, the signals altered the gut environment, lowering levels of spermidine, a bacteria-derived molecule tied to healthy aging. Without enough spermidine, the stem cells lost ground.
“Emotional stress in the brain can indirectly influence the body’s immune system through the gut,” said Meng Zhao, PhD, the study’s senior author. Because spermidine affects tissues well beyond bone marrow, he added, the pathway may extend further still.
The findings help explain why some people get sick more easily during periods of prolonged stress. Other experts Medical News Today spoke with noted that the pathway is plausible and genuinely novel, though so far it has only been detected in mice. Zhao’s team wants to confirm next whether the same route operates in humans.
To learn more about this research and for expert tips on how to manage and reduce stress, jump to “Can stress age your stem cells? New mice study points to gut-brain-bone marrow link.”
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