LABORATORY OF STRESS RESEARCH (LSR)

Scientific directions of the laboratory

• The laboratory investigates the mechanisms of activation of the sympatho-adrenal system (SAS) in stress and during adaptation of the organism to chronic or intermittent exposure to different stressors. The main targets are processes of catecholamine (CA) biosynthesis, the levels of mRNA enzymes involved in CA biosynthesis in the adrenal medulla, sympathetic ganglia, heart, and various brain regions, while special focus lies on processes controlling the expression of genes coding for enzymes of CA biosynthesis. Mechanisms involved in the effects of stress on SAS are studied in mice with knocked-out genes for the synthesis of CA enzymes, corticoliberin synthesis, or the c-fos gene. Activity of SAS is studied also in animals exposed to hypergravitation in the centrifuge as a model of aircraft take-off or the launching of spacecraft. The mechanisms of action of chronic stress on the origin and development of Alzheimer's disease represent a further target of research of the Laboratory.

The most important publications of workers of the Laboratory of stress research (IF ≥2)

1. Kvetňanský, R., Sabban, E.L., Palkovits, M. Catecholaminergic systems in stress: Structural and molecular genetic approaches. Physiological Reviews, 89 (2), 535-606, 2009. (IF =37,047)

2. Kuo, L.E., Kitlinska, J.B., Tilan, J.U., Li, L., Baker, S.B., Johnson, M.D., Lee, E.W., Burnett, M.S., Fricke, S.T., Kvetňanský, R., Herzog, H., Zukowska, Z. Neuropeptide Y acts directly in the periphery on fat tissue and mediates stress-induced obesity and metabolic syndrome. Nature Medicine, 13 (7), 803-811, 2007. (IF = 27,887)

3. Sabban, E.L., Kvetňanský, R.: Stress-triggered activation of gene expression in catecholaminergic systems: dynamics of transcriptional events. TRENDS in Neuroscience 24: 91-98, 2001. (IF = 12,794)

4. Elenkov, I.J., Kvetňanský, R., Hashiramoto, A., Bakalov, V.K., Link, A.A., Zachman, K., Crane, M., Ježova, D., Rovensky, J., Dimitrov, M.A., Gold, P.W., Bonini, S., Fleisher, T., Chrousos, G.P., Wilder, R.L. Low- versus high-baseline epinephrine output shapes opposite innate cytokine profiles: Presence of Lewis- and Fischer-like neurohormonal immune phenotypes in humans? Journal of Immunology, 181 (3), 1737-1745, 2008. (IF = 5,646)

5. Jelokova, J., Rusnak, M., Kubovcakova, L., Buckendahl, P., Krizanova, O., Sabban, E.L., Kvetnansky, R. Stress increases gene expression of phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase in spleen of rats via pituitary-adrenocortical mechanism. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 27 (5), 619-633, 2002. (IF = 5,528)

6. Križanová, O., Mičutková, L., Jeloková, J., Filipenko, M., Sabban, E., Kvetňanský, R. Existence of cardiac PNMT mRNA in adult rats: Elevation by stress in a glucocorticoid-dependent manner. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 281, H1372-H1379, 2001. (IF = 3,856)

7. Vargovič, P., Ukropec, J., Lauková, M., Cleary, S., Manz, B., Pacak, K., Kvetňanský, R. Adipocytes as a new source of catecholamine production. FEBS Letters 585 (14), 2279-2284, 2011. (IF = 3,601)

8. Kvetňanský, R.: Stress, Neurotransmitters, and Hormones: Neuroendocrine and Genetic Mechanisms. Annals New York Academy of Sciences, 1148, pp. 1-570, 2008. (IF = 2,648)

9. Kvetňanský, R., Kubovčáková, L., Tillinger, A., Mičutková, L., Križanová, O., Sabban E.L. Gene expression of phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase in corticotropin-releasing hormone knockout mice during stress exposure. Cellular Molecular Neurobiology26, 733-752, 2006. (IF = 2,603)

10. Laukova, M., Vargovič, P., Križanova, O., Kvetňanský, R. Repeated stress down-regulates β2 and α2C-adrenergic receptors and up-regulates gene expression of IL-6 in the rat spleen. Cell Mol Neurobiol. 30(7), 1077-1087, 2010. (IF = 2,40)