After experiencing trauma or severe stress, some people develop an abnormal stress response or chronic stress. This increases the risk of developing other diseases such as depression and anxiety, but it remains unknown what mechanisms are behind it or how the stress response is regulated.
The research group at Karolinska Institutet, in Sweden, has previously found that a protein in the brain plays an important role in the function of serotonin that regulates mood and releases stress hormones, at least in mice, the German News Agency reported.
The research group found that the protein named p11 plays an important role in the function of serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain that regulates mood. Depressed patients and suicide victims have lower levels of the p11 protein in their brain, and laboratory mice with reduced p11 levels show depression- and anxiety-like behavior.
The new study shows that p11 affects the initial release of the stress hormone cortisol in mice by modulating the activity of specific neurons in the brain area hypothalamus.
In addition, the tests showed that mice with p11 deficiency react more strongly to stress, with a higher heart rate and more signs of anxiety, compared to mice with normal p11 levels.
The findings of the new study, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, may have implications on the development of new drugs for depression and anxiety.
