“Stress” is 80 Years Old: From Hans Selye Original Paper in 1936 to Recent Advances in GI Ulceration

Abstract

The first scientific publication on 'general adaption syndrome', or as we know today 'biologic stress' has been published in Nature in 1936 by the 29-year old Hans Selye. His results in that short publication that contained no references or illustrations, were based on experiments in rats that were exposed to severe insults/ stressors, but his idea about a 'nonspecific bodily response' originated from his observations of sick patients whom he had seen as a medical student and young clinician. Autopsy of stressed rats revealed three major, grossly visible changes: hyperemia and enlargement of the adrenals, atrophy of the thymus and lymph nodes as well as hemorrhagic gastric erosions/ulcers (the "stress triad"). Based on this and additional observations, he concluded that the key master organ in stress reactions is the adrenal cortex (although he also accepted the limited and short lasting effect of catecholamines released from the adrenal medulla) which stimulated by an increased secretion of ACTH, secreted by the anterior pituitary gland. He thus identified the first molecular mediators of the stress reaction, i.e., steroids released from the adrenal cortex that we call today glucocorticoids, based on his classification and naming of steroids. At the end of a very productive life in experimental medicine, Selye recognized that under both unpleasant and demanding stressors as well as positive, rewarding stimuli adrenal cortex releases the same glucocorticoids and only certain brain structures may distinguish the stimuli under distress and eustress - terms he introduced in 1974, that also contained his last definition of stress: the nonspecific response of the body on any demand on it. After brief description of the history of stress research, the rest of this review is focused on one element of stress triad, i.e., gastroduodenal ulceration, especially its pathogenesis, prevention and treatment. Following a short description of acute gastroprotection, discovered by one of Selye's students, we discuss new molecular mediators of gastroduodenal ulceration like dopamine and new drugs that either only heal (very potently, on molar basis) or prevent and heal ulcers like sucralfate derivatives and the relatively new peptide BPC-157. We conclude that despite the extensive and multidisciplinary research on stress during the last 80 years, a lot of basic and clinical research is needed to better understand the manifestations, central and peripheral molecular regulators of stress response, especially the modes of prevention/management of distress or its transformation into eustress and the treatment of stress-related diseases.

Beta-2 Adrenergic and Glucocorticoid Receptor Agonists Modulate Ozone-Induced Pulmonary Protein Leakage and Inflammation in Healthy and Adrenalectomized Rats

“…This demonstrates that T-lymphocytes are sensitive to stress hormone levels and their receptor activation. It is well-known that glucocorticoids induce thymic atrophy (Pazirandeh et al, 2002;Roggero et al, 2006) and apoptosis in circulating T-cells (Cidlowski et al, 1996), which is consistently observed in different models of stress (Szabo et al, 2017). The pattern of ozone-induced decrease and AD-mediated recovery of circulating leukocyte cell subpopulations suggests that endogenous levels of glucocorticoid hormones are sufficient to dynamically regulate the relative size of cytotoxic and helper Tcell pools.…”

Products of Lipid Peroxidation as a Factor in the Toxic Effect of Silver Nanoparticles

“…While living in an aerobic environment, cells are exposed to the phenomenon of oxidative stress. The concept of stress and the mechanisms of the response to it were first described in 1936 [1] and the term "oxidative stress" was developed in the book of the same title in 1985. It was defined as an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants, in favor of oxidants, that leads to interference in the transmission of signals and in damage to cellular structures [2].…”

Deciphering the links between psychological stress, depression, and neurocognitive decline in patients with Down syndrome

“…Since its description by Hans Seyle in 1952, stress has been extensively studied in various ways. Indeed, stress has many facets, including physical, chemical, biological, and psychological as recalled in a recent review ( Szabo et al, 2017 ). Various types of stressors have been described for psychological stress, including those of Sharpe and Lewis, such as performance, social threat, boredom, lack of control of a situation, bereavement, and physical threat ( Sharpe and Lewis, 1995 ).…”