Role of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis in Health and Disease.

Sharon Demorrow

doi:10.3390/ijms19040986

Abstract

The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis describes a complex set of positive and negative feedback influences between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal gland.[...].

Highlights

Topic/Keywords Stress, fertility, reproduction, HPA axis, programming, glucocorticoids Lactation, prolactin, prolactin receptor, HPA axis, corticosterone, restraint stress
The Special Issue opens with the review article of Joseph and Whirledge [1] outlining the effects of the HPA axis on reproductive function and fertility
As part of the physiological adaptation to stress, the HPA axis mediates the function of the hypothalamic adrenal gonadal axis, which is responsible for the reproductive ability of an organism

Summary

The Role of the HPA Axis in Pregnancy and Early Development

The Special Issue opens with the review article of Joseph and Whirledge [1] outlining the effects of the HPA axis on reproductive function and fertility. The authors correlated the dampened stress response of the HPA axis in the presence of their pups in lactating rats to the high levels of circulating prolactin levels and increased prolactin receptor expression in the central nervous system and the restoration of the stress response to pre-pregnancy levels occurred once prolactin. The second article by Schiffner et al [3] hypothesizes that prenatal maternal exposure to low doses of the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone may cause an alteration of the counter regulatory response of endogenous ACTH and cortisol during hypoglycemia This hypothesis is based on the observations that stress hormones, such as ACTH and cortisol, stimulate gluconeogenesis and glucose release, that the activation of the HPA axis is related to metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus, and that hypoglycemia, with a resulting increase in ACTH and cortisol as a counter-regulatory response, is a common side effect of anti-diabetic treatment. There was a negative association between interleukin 1β mRNA in the blood and morning cortisol reactivity within the depressed group, indicating that dysregulation of the HPA axis and the immune system may be interconnected in patients with depression

The Role of the HPA Axis in Other Physiological Responses

The Role of the HPA Axis in the Pathophysiology of Peripheral Organs