Stress, a state of perceived threat to homeostasis, regulates a panel of important physiological functions. The human mind and body respond to stress by activating the sympathetic nervous system and secreting the catecholamines epinephrine and norepinephrine in the "fight-or-flight" response. However, the protective mechanism of acute stress is still unknown. In the present study, an acute stress mouse model was constructed by intraperitoneal injection of epinephrine (0.2 mg kg(-1)) for 4 h. Epinephrine treatment induced heat shock 70(Hsp70) expression in the stress responsive tissues, such as the cortex, hippocampus, thymus, and kidney. Further, the expression of thioredoxin-1(Trx-1), a cytoprotective protein, was also upregulated in these stress responsive tissues. In addition, the phosphorylation of cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB), a transcription factor of Trx-1, was increased after treatment with epinephrine. The block of CREB activation by H89 inhibited the acute epinephrine stress-induced Trx-1 and Hsp70 expression. Taken together, our data suggest that acute stimuli of epinephrine induced Trx-1 expression through activating CREB and may represent a protective role against stress.
Keywords: Acute stress; CREB; Epinephrine; Hsp70; Trx-1.