Heat stress affects brain, gut and liver function via a complex network of molecular mediators.
Heat stress affects brain, gut and liver function via a complex network of molecular mediators.
Researchers from the University of California, Irvine have found evidence of the molecular causes of the damaging impact heat stress causes on the gut, liver and brain in the elderly. These findings point to the potential of developing precise prognostic and therapeutic interventions.
These organs have a complex and multidirectional communication system that touches everything from our gastrointestinal tract to the nervous system. Whether it is our brain affecting hunger or the liver influencing mental health, understanding the gut-liver-brain communication or “axis” is crucial to protecting human health.
Their study, which was conducted on mouse models, is published in the journal Scientific Reports, a Nature Portfolio journal. It is one of the first to fill the knowledge gap on the effects of heat stress on a molecular level of this crucial biological conversation.
Read more at University of California - Irvine
Image: “By investigating the effects of heat stress on the gut-liver-brain crosstalk, we can better protect our increasingly vulnerable aging population,” says Saurabh Chatterjee. (Credit: Steve Zylius / UC Irvine)
