CAREER: Corticosteroid Binding Globulins in the Vertebrate Stress Response: Integrating Cellular, Plasma, and Organismal Studies

职业：脊椎动物应激反应中的皮质类固醇结合球蛋白：整合细胞、血浆和有机体研究

• 批准号: 0747361
• 负责人: Creagh Breuner
• 金额: $ 80.22万
• 依托单位: University of Montana
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-05-01 至 2014-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0747361&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Corticosteroid; Binding; Globulins; Vertebrate

The glucocorticoid hormone-driven stress response is a potent modulator of physiology and behavior across the animal kingdom. This stress response is regulated at many levels, demonstrating specificity to the stressor, the environmental context, and the physiological condition of the organism. How can an organism facilitate such fine control over what was historically presumed to be a generalized response to any noxious stressor? Over the last decade binding proteins have emerged as one of the central integrators of the endocrine regulatory axis. Corticosteroid binding globulin (CBG) is a significant regulator of the stress response, altering the potency and tissue specificity of corticosteroid action depending on environmental and physiological conditions. Nevertheless, the mechanism by which CBG alters physiological function is under dispute. This research will investigate the role of CBG in mediating the stress response in white-crowned sparrows by incorporating studies from the cellular to the ecological level. The availability of CBG in plasma, tissues, and whole birds will be altered and the physiological and behavioral responses to exogenous corticosterone will be monitored. Such an approach will evaluate the relative importance of tissue versus plasma CBG in orchestrating the organismal response to stress. This research will be extended to ecologically relevant organismal studies to determine how CBG is involved in mediating the stress response in wild populations of birds. This project incorporates undergraduate internships with integration of research and teaching as their main focus. These undergraduate biology and science education majors will be trained in field research techniques and ideas, while learning how to develop lesson plans for high school students. In mid-May, the students will travel with the PI to Lee Vining, California for the 6-week field season. During that time they will complete the field research outlined in the grant, while also giving their prepared lessons at the local high school one day each week. The entire internship will culminate with presentation of the field-collected data at the University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research. These experiences strengthen the education majors' knowledge of the scientific process, and forge an understanding and commitment to developing authentic research experiences for students in their future science classrooms. For the biology undergraduates, these experiences will foster positive experiences with educational settings and encourage future relationships with secondary science classrooms. This program will promote active participation in both the scientific process and learning the nature of science; it will improve the interns' potential as future teachers of science.

糖皮质激素依赖性应激反应是动物界生理和行为的一种有效调节剂。这种应激反应在许多水平上受到调节，表现出对应激源、环境背景和生物体生理状况的特异性。一个有机体是如何能够如此精细地控制历史上被认为是对任何有害压力的普遍反应的？在过去的十年中，结合蛋白已经成为内分泌调节轴的中心整合者之一。皮质类固醇结合球蛋白（CBG）是应激反应的重要调节剂，根据环境和生理条件改变皮质类固醇作用的效力和组织特异性。然而，CBG改变生理功能的机制仍存在争议。本研究将从细胞水平到生态水平探讨CBG在介导白冠麻雀应激反应中的作用。将改变血浆、组织和整只鸡中CBG的可用性，并监测对外源性皮质酮的生理和行为反应。这种方法将评估组织与血浆CBG在协调机体对应激的反应中的相对重要性。这项研究将扩展到生态相关的生物体研究，以确定CBG如何参与介导野生鸟类种群的应激反应。该项目将本科生实习与研究和教学相结合作为其主要重点。这些本科生物学和科学教育专业的学生将接受实地研究技术和思想的培训，同时学习如何为高中生制定课程计划。五月中旬，学生们将与PI一起前往加州的李维宁进行为期6周的实地考察。在此期间，他们将完成赠款中概述的实地研究，同时每周有一天在当地高中讲授他们准备好的课程。整个实习将在蒙大拿大学本科生研究会议上展示现场收集的数据。这些经验加强了教育专业的科学过程的知识，并建立了理解和承诺，为学生在未来的科学课堂上发展真实的研究经验。对于生物本科生，这些经验将促进积极的经验与教育环境，并鼓励未来的关系与中学科学教室。该计划将促进积极参与科学过程和学习科学的本质;它将提高实习生作为未来科学教师的潜力。