Facing stress and inflammation: From the cell to the planet

Abstract

As identified in 1936 by Hans Selye, stress is shaping diseases through the induction of inflammation. But inflammation display some yin yang properties. On one hand inflammation is merging with the innate immune response aimed to fight infectious or sterile insults, on the other hand inflammation favors chronic physical or psychological disorders. Nature has equipped the cells, the organs, and the individuals with mediators and mechanisms that allow them to deal with stress, and even a good stress (eustress) has been associated with homeostasis. Likewise, societies and the planet are exposed to stressful settings, but wars and global warming suggest that the regulatory mechanisms are poorly efficient. In this review we list some inducers of the physiological stress, psychologic stress, societal stress, and planetary stress, and mention some of the great number of parameters which affect and modulate the response to stress and render it different from an individual to another, from the cellular level to the societal one. The cell, the organ, the individual, the society, and the planet share many stressors of which the consequences are extremely interconnected ending in the domino effect and the butterfly effect.

Keywords: Climate change; Cytokines; Genetic diversity; Global health; Immunity; Microplastics; Resilience; Yin yang.

Figure 1

As pointed out by Hans Selye, stress and inflammation affect all human components as well as their own societal and planetary environment.

Figure 2

A domino effect, from the production of plastics by human industries to the environmental pollution to their degradation into microplastics that contaminate wild life animals and livestock, and the products derived therefrom. The ingestion and inhalation of microplastics by humans generate an inflammatory reaction in cells and organs. UV: Ultra-violet.

Figure 3

Stress favors an inflammatory response which is regulated by the neuro-endocrine axis. Many parameters modulate positively or negatively this response. CRF: Corticotropin releasing factor; ACTH: Adrenocorticopic hormone; MØ: Macrophage; PMN: Polymorphonuclear cell (Neutrophil); NK cell: Natural killer cell.

Figure 4

Inflammation involved many pro-inflammatory molecular players while many others allow a controlled response and a return towards homeostasis. IL: Interleukin; TNF: Tumor necrosis factor; CRP: C-reactive protein; IFN: Interferon; NK cell: Natural killer cell. Citation: Cavaillon J. Molecular Mediators: Cytokines. Reviews in Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine 2015. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by Reviews in Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine[358].