Psychological stress increases skin infection through the action of TGFβ to suppress immune-acting fibroblasts.

ABSTRACT: Infections after psychological stress are a major health care problem. Single-cell transcriptomics and lipidomic profiling in a mouse model of stress show that dermal fibroblasts undergoing adipogenesis have defective responses to Staphylococcus aureus skin infection. Adrenalectomy or adrenergic inhibition restores the fibroblast adipogenic response to S. aureus and enables mice to effectively resist infection during stress. Increased susceptibility to S. aureus from stress is attributed to suppression of the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin (Camp) because adrenaline directly inhibits Camp production by fibroblasts, and mice lacking Camp in fibroblasts do not increase infection after stress. Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) is induced by stres

SUBMITTER: Chan H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12183641 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature