Aerts Johan
Stress Physiology Research Group, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ostend, Belgium.
Stress Physiology Research Group, Animal Sciences Unit, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Ostend, Belgium.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2018 Oct 23;9:635. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2018.00635. eCollection 2018.
Vertebrates are faced continuously with a variety of potential stressful stimuli and react by a highly conserved endocrine stress response. An immediate catecholamine mediated response increases plasma glucose levels in order to prepare the organism for the "fight or flight" reaction. In addition, in a matter of minutes after this (nor)adrenaline release, glucocorticoids, in particular cortisol or corticosterone depending on the species, are released through activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis in fish or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in other vertebrates. These plasma glucocorticoids are well documented and widely used as biomarker for stress across vertebrates. In order to study the role of glucocorticoids in acute and chronic stress and gain in-depth insight in the stress axis (re)activity across vertebrates, it is pivotal to pin-point the involved molecules, to understand the mechanisms of how the latter are synthesized, regulated and excreted, and to grasp their actions on a plethora of biological processes. Furthermore, in-depth knowledge on the characteristics of the tissues as well as on the analytical methodologies available for glucocorticoid quantification is needed. This manuscript is to be situated in the multi-disciplinary research topic of glucocorticoid action across vertebrates which is linked to a wide range of research domains including but not limited to biochemistry, ecology, endocrinology, ethology, histology, immunology, morphology, physiology, and toxicology, and provides a solid base for all interested in stress, in particular glucocorticoid, related research. In this framework, internationally validated confirmation methods for quantification of a glucocorticoid profile comprising: (i) the dominant hormone; (ii) its direct precursors; (iii) its endogenously present phase I metabolites; and (iv) the most abundant more polar excreted exogenous phase I metabolites in non-pooled samples are pivotal.
脊椎动物不断面临各种潜在的应激刺激，并通过高度保守的内分泌应激反应做出反应。由儿茶酚胺介导的即时反应会提高血浆葡萄糖水平，以便让机体为“战斗或逃跑”反应做好准备。此外，在（去甲）肾上腺素释放后的几分钟内，根据物种不同，糖皮质激素，特别是皮质醇或皮质酮，会通过激活鱼类的下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾间（HPI）轴或其他脊椎动物的下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺（HPA）轴而释放。这些血浆糖皮质激素有充分的文献记载，并被广泛用作整个脊椎动物应激的生物标志物。为了研究糖皮质激素在急性和慢性应激中的作用，并深入了解整个脊椎动物应激轴的（再）活性，关键是要确定所涉及的分子，了解它们的合成、调节和排泄机制，并掌握它们对众多生物过程的作用。此外，还需要深入了解组织的特性以及可用于糖皮质激素定量的分析方法。本手稿位于跨脊椎动物糖皮质激素作用的多学科研究主题中，该主题与广泛的研究领域相关，包括但不限于生物化学、生态学、内分泌学、行为学、组织学、免疫学、形态学、生理学和毒理学，为所有对应激，特别是糖皮质激素相关研究感兴趣的人提供了坚实的基础。在此框架下，用于定量糖皮质激素谱的国际验证确认方法至关重要，该谱包括：（i）主要激素；（ii）其直接前体；（iii）其内源性存在的I相代谢物；以及（iv）非混合样品中最丰富的极性更强的排泄性外源性I相代谢物。
