How does stress regulate tau-associated synaptic function?

压力是一种正常的日常体验，通常是一种有益的生理反应。然而，长期、慢性的压力会对健康产生重大的负面影响，并被认为是几种疾病发病的基础和原因。在细胞水平上，应激激素可以改变神经元的功能，但我们对这些影响的机制的理解目前是有限的。我们的总体目标是研究压力如何导致大脑老化。更具体地说，我们感兴趣的是确定神经细胞之间的动态通信是如何被应激激素失调的。我们的项目重点关注一种名为tau的蛋白质的作用，以及它如何介导压力的损害作用。Tau蛋白在多种神经系统疾病中发挥着重要作用，我们的初步研究揭示了应激激素与神经元中Tau蛋白的异常调节之间可能存在因果关系。我们提出的研究是一门基础科学。然而，我们的研究结果可以很好地提高我们对中枢神经系统压力激素失调的分子机制的理解，并可能为压力可能导致衰老的原因提供新的线索。

Stress is a normal daily experience, and is ordinarily a useful physiological response. However, prolonged, chronic stress can have a significant negative impact on health, and is thought to underlie and contribute to the onset of several diseases. At the cellular level, stress hormones can change neuronal function, but our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these effects is currently limited. Our overall objective is to examine how stress contributes to ageing in the brain. More specifically, we're interested in determining how dynamic communication between nerve cells can be dysregulated by stress hormones. Our project focuses on the role of a protein named tau, and how it might mediate the impairing effects of stress. Tau has well-established roles in several neurological pathologies, and our preliminary investigation has revealed a possible causal relationship between stress hormones and the aberrant regulation of tau protein in neurons. Our proposed research is of a fundamental, basic science in foundation. However, findings from our study could well improved our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying stress hormone-dysregulation of the central nervous system, and may shed new light on why stress might contribute to ageing.