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Equivalent of Hypothalamo–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis in the Skin

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Sensing the Environment: Regulation of Local and Global Homeostasis by the Skin's Neuroendocrine System

Part of the book series: Advances in Anatomy, Embryology and Cell Biology ((ADVSANAT,volume 212))

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Abstract

The work of Hans Selye was fundamental in defining the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis as the body’s important coordinator of responses to systemic stress (Selye 1936; Seyle 1976). The HPA functional structure has been completed by determining that hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) acts as the regulator of the production of ACTH and β-endorphin in the anterior pituitary (Spiess et al. 1981; Vale et al. 1981). The HPA pathway (Fig. 7.1) is triggered by various stress factors which activate production of CRF in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) (Chrousos 1995; Chrousos and Gold 1992; Owens and Nemeroff 1991). In pituitary CRF binds to CRF type 1 receptors (CRF1) (Aguilera et al. 2001; Hillhouse and Grammatopoulos 2006; Perrin and Vale 1999) increasing production and secretion of the proopiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived peptides, i.e., ACTH, MSH, and β-endorphin (Hillhouse and Grammatopoulos 2006; Pritchard and White 2007; Smith and Funder 1988). The arginine vasopressin (AVP) produced by the PVN can also act synergistically with CRF in activating the HPA axis (Chrousos 1995; Itoi et al. 2004). In the adrenal cortex ACTH, by interacting with the MC2 receptors (MC2-R), stimulates production and secretion of cortisol in humans or corticosterone in rodents. These corticosteroids counteract the effects of stressors by mobilization of energy reserves, buffering tissue damages, and suppressing immune system. Moreover, corticosteroids via feedback mechanisms inhibit the HPA axis through the suppression of CRF and POMC production. The HPA axis is also controlled by cytokines, tissue modifiers, and growth factors, which can be either produced in the brain or by peripheral tissues including cells of the immune system. Thus, there are various ways of controlling stress responses at the level of hypothalamus or pituitary that bypass the central brain coordinating centers (c.f. in Besedovsky and Rey 2007; Blalock and Smith 2007; Chesnokova and Melmed 2002) (Fig. 7.1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Department of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA

    Andrzej T. Slominski

  2. Department of Histology, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland

    Michal A. Zmijewski

  3. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, TN, USA

    Cezary Skobowiat & Blazej Zbytek

  4. University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA

    Radomir M. Slominski

  5. Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland

    Radomir M. Slominski

  6. Department of Pharmacology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA

    Jeffery D. Steketee

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  1. Andrzej T. Slominski
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  2. Michal A. Zmijewski
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  3. Cezary Skobowiat
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Slominski, A.T., Zmijewski, M.A., Skobowiat, C., Zbytek, B., Slominski, R.M., Steketee, J.D. (2012). Equivalent of Hypothalamo–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis in the Skin. In: Sensing the Environment: Regulation of Local and Global Homeostasis by the Skin's Neuroendocrine System. Advances in Anatomy, Embryology and Cell Biology, vol 212. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19683-6_7

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