# Outcome of stress on G protein-coupled receptors and hypoxia inducible factor-1α

## TL;DR

This study explores how stress affects specific proteins in the intestines, revealing different responses in acute and chronic stress conditions.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into how stress modulates GPR41, GPR43, and HIF-1α in the intestinal mucosa.

## Key findings

- Chronic stress significantly lowers GPR43 and HIF-1α expression in the colon.
- Acute stress increases HIF-1α and GPR41 expression without affecting GPR43.
- Stress modulates hypoxia response elements differently depending on its duration.

## Abstract

Stress drives neuroendocrine signals with detrimental effects to the intestinal homeostasis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of stress on intestinal hypoxia response elements, including G protein-coupled receptor 41 (GPR41), GPR43, and hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1α. Groups of five BALB/c mice were subjected to acute (2 h per day) and chronic (2 h per day for 4 days) stress induced by restraint, and the results were compared to those of an unstressed control group. Whole mucosal samples from the colon were collected to evaluate the expression of GPR41, GPR43 and HIF-1α using Western blot chemiluminescent analysis. Compared to the control group, in the chronic stress group the expression of GPR43 (P = 0.0092) and HIF-1α (P < 0.0001) were significantly lower and the expression of GPR41 was similar (P = 0.9184); acute stress significantly increased HIF-1α expression (P = 0.0030) and increased GPR41 expression (P = 0.0937), without affecting GPR43 (P = 0.9184). These findings offer insights into the modulation of hypoxia response elements under stress conditions and their pharmacological implications for developing drugs that mitigate the effects of stress on intestinal homeostasis.