The metabolic stress response: Adaptation to acute-, repeated- and chronic challenges in mice
Open accessAbstract
There is a strong relationship between stress and metabolism. Because acute traumatic- and chronic stress events are often accompanied with metabolic pathophysiology, it is important to understand the details of the metabolic stress response. In this study we directly compared metabolic effects of acute stress with chronic repeated- and chronic unpredictable stress in mouse models. All types of adversities increased energy expenditure, chronic stress exposure decreased body weight gain, locomotor activity and differentially affected fuel utilization. During chronic exposure to variable stressors, carbohydrates were the predominant fuels, whereas fatty acids were catabolized in acutely and repeatedly restrained animals. Chronic exposure to variable stressors in unpredictable manner provoked anxiety. Our data highlight differences in metabolic responses to acute- repeated- and chronic stressors, which might affect coping behavior and underlie stress-induced metabolic and psychopathologies.
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Glucocorticoid desensitization dampens the immune system's response to cortisol, leading to elevated peripheral pro-inflammatory factors (TNF, IL-17, IL-1β, IL-6) and sustained neuroinflammation marked by chronic microglial and astrocyte activation.
“This desensitization dampens the immune system’s response to cortisol, ultimately leading to elevated peripheral pro-inflammatory factors (e.g., TNF, IL-17, IL-1β, IL-6) and sustained neuroinflammation, marked by chronic microglial and astrocyte activation [29,31,32,33,34].”
From Comparative Analysis of HPA-Axis Dysregulation and Dynamic Molecular Mechanisms in Acute Versus Chronic Social Defeat Stress (2025) · cites this paper as [31]
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Cites
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“By contrast, stress-induced noradrenaline release in the arcuate nucleus might promote compensatory food intake via stimulation of orexigenic NPY/AgRP ARC neurons (Paeger et al., 2017).”
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Sorted by citations
Yang, J., Jia, Y., Guo, T., Zhang, S., Huang, J., Lu, H., Li, L., Xu, J., Liu, G., & Xiao, K. (2025) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms26136063 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
“This desensitization dampens the immune system’s response to cortisol, ultimately leading to elevated peripheral pro-inflammatory factors (e.g., TNF, IL-17, IL-1 β , IL-6) and sustained neuroinflammation, marked by chronic microglial and astrocyte activation [29,31–34].”
- Authors
- Kuti, D., Winkler, Z., Horváth, K., Juhász, B., Szilvásy-Szabó, A., Fekete, C., Ferenczi, S., & Kovács, K. J.
- Affiliations
- HUN-REN Institute of Experimental Medicine (HU)
- Semmelweis University (HU)
- Corresponding author
- Kovács, Krisztina J.
- Venue
- iScience
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2022-08
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 104693
- ISSN
- 2589-0042 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9307515
- OpenAlex
- W4283733386
- Cited by
- 77
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 3
- FWCI
- 7.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- iScience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Repository of the Academy's Library (Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) (acceptedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Nemzeti Kutatási, Fejlesztési és Innovaciós Alap (124424)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Regulation of Appetite and Obesity
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Physiological and biochemical adaptations
- Keywords
- metabolic stress response, acute stress, chronic stress, repeated stress, unpredictable stress, energy expenditure, weight gain, locomotor activity, fuel utilization, carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid degradation, anxiety, coping styles, restraint stress
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