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Cited by 147Mitochondrial Function and PathologyStress Responses and CortisolExtracellular vesicles in disease

Acute psychological stress increases serum circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA

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Trumpff, Caroline, Marsland, Anna L., Basualto-Alarcón, Carla, Martin, James L., Carroll, Judith E., Sturm, Gabriel, Vincent, Amy E., Mosharov, Eugene V. +3 more·2019·Psychoneuroendocrinology
DOI 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.03.026PMC PMC6589121

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Abstract

Intrinsic biological mechanisms transduce psychological stress into physiological adaptation that requires energy, but the role of mitochondria and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in this process has not been defined in humans. Here, we show that similar to physical injury, exposure to psychological stress increases serum circulating cell-free mtDNA (ccf-mtDNA) levels. Healthy midlife adults exposed on two separate occasions to a brief psychological challenge exhibited a 2-3-fold increase in ccf-mtDNA, with no change in ccf-nuclear DNA levels, establishing the magnitude and specificity for ccf-mtDNA reactivity. In cell-based studies, we show that glucocorticoid signaling - a consequence of psychological stress in humans - is sufficient to induce mtDNA extrusion in a time frame consistent with stress-induced ccf-mtDNA increase. Collectively, these findings provide evidence that acute psychological stress induces ccf-mtDNA and implicate neuroendocrine signaling as a potential trigger for ccf-mtDNA release. Further controlled work is needed to confirm that observed increases in ccf-mtDNA result from stress exposure and to determine the functional significance of this effect.

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  • Assessing presence of extracellular mitochondria or their fragments by measuring ccf-mtDNA levels could allow on-flight direct estimation of cellular stress to take preventive measures of cumulative damage.

    “Assessing the presence of extracellular mitochondria or their fragments by measuring ccf-mtDNA levels could allow on-flight direct estimation of cellular stress to take preventive measures of cumulative damage196,199–206.”

    From Key points for the development of antioxidant cocktails to prevent cellular stress and damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) during manned space missions (2021) · cites this paper as [205]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) describes serum ccf-mtDNA as a dynamic marker that rises rapidly after acute psychological stress, supporting its potential use in assessing a stress response. It does not establish that ccf-mtDNA directly measures cellular stress during flight or that monitoring it enables preventive measures against cumulative damage. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Authors
Trumpff, C., Marsland, A. L., Basualto-Alarcón, C., Martin, J. L., Carroll, J. E., Sturm, G., Vincent, A. E., Mosharov, E. V., Gu, Z., Kaufman, B. A., & Picard, M.
Affiliations
  • Columbia University Irving Medical Center (US)
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
  • Universidad de Aysén (CL)
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
  • Cornell University (US)
Corresponding author
  • Marsland, Anna L.
  • Kaufman, Brett A.
  • Picard, Martin
ORCID
Venue
Psychoneuroendocrinology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-08
Volume
106
Pages
268-276
ISSN
0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.03.026
PMC
PMC6589121
OpenAlex
W2926182860
Cited by
147
References
11
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 6 · 2014: 1
FWCI
3.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Psychoneuroendocrinology (acceptedVersion)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Universidad de Chile (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity)
Funders
  • NIH (NR08237, GM110424, GM119793, MH113011)
  • Wharton Fund
  • FONDECYT (3150623)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Mitochondrial Function and Pathology
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Extracellular vesicles in disease
Keywords
acute psychological stress, circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA, cell-free DNA, mitochondria, glucocorticoid signaling, neuroendocrine stress response, middle-aged adults
MeSH terms
Cell-Free Nucleic Acids, Adult, DNA, Mitochondrial, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Mitochondria, Stress, Psychological

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