Scientific Reports · 10 authors, 5 centres
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This study used a mouse model of chronic social defeat stress to measure corticosteroid levels in blood and various tissues. The central result is that stress increased tissue-specific levels of these steroids, which often did not match their levels in plasma.
This preclinical study used male BALB/c mice subjected to a repeated social defeat paradigm to profile adrenal corticosteroid levels in plasma and multiple tissues (brain, liver, kidney, colon, lymphoid organs). Using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, researchers found that chronic stress induced significant, tissue-dependent increases in corticosterone (CORT), 11-dehydrocorticosterone (11DHC), progesterone (PROG), and 11-deoxycorticosterone (11DOC). For example, CORT increased 19–75 times in local tissues, compared to a 26-fold increase in plasma. The study also analyzed gut microbiota via 16S RNA gene sequencing, finding that stress altered β- (but not α-) diversity and identified specific bacterial genera as biomarkers. The findings suggest that systemic plasma steroid levels may not accurately reflect local tissue exposure, which has implications for understanding stress-related pathophysiology.
