{"id":92577,"date":"2025-11-14T15:17:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T14:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/?p=92577"},"modified":"2026-02-02T10:59:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T09:59:40","slug":"project-autohealth-how-stress-affects-the-body-and-the-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/project-autohealth-how-stress-affects-the-body-and-the-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"Project AutoHealth: How Stress Affects the Body and the Brain"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Stress triggers a cascade of complex biochemical reactions in the body. One of their consequences may be the disruption of autophagy<\/span>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/span>a cellular \u201cself-cleaning\u201d process. Dr.\u00a0<\/span>Viorica<\/span>\u00a0Raluca\u00a0<\/span>Contu<\/span>, who leads the\u00a0<\/span>AutoHealth<\/span>\u00a0project, investigates how stress affects this mechanism and how the cooperation between the body\u2019s metabolism and the brain shapes our mental health.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The\u00a0AutoHealth\u00a0project (\u201cAutophagy as a link between peripheral metabolism and stress in mental health: from experimental models to clinical applications\u201d) has been recommended for funding under the 4th call of the international NEURON\u00a0Cofund\u00a02 program.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Dr.\u00a0Contu, from the Biology of Astrocytes Research Group<\/a><\/strong> at \u0141ukasiewicz \u2013 PORT, will conduct the research within an international consortium together with partners from Germany, Israel, and\u00a0Turkey. The total project budget exceeds one million PLN.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Autophagy \u2013 order within the cell <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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The central concept in Dr.\u00a0Contu\u2019s\u00a0research is autophagy\u00a0\u2013\u00a0an internal mechanism through which cells remove damaged or unnecessary components. This process enables them to\u00a0maintain\u00a0balance and function properly.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cImagine a room that hasn\u2019t been cleaned for weeks,\u201d explains Dr.\u00a0Contu. \u201cIt becomes difficult to work in such a space. Cells function in\u00a0a similar way\u00a0\u2013\u00a0without regular cleaning, they begin to malfunction.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Disrupted autophagy may be linked to both metabolic and neuropsychiatric disorders. Although scientists are gaining an increasingly better understanding of its role, the process still requires intensive research.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The brain\u2013body communication channel <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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In the\u00a0AutoHealth\u00a0project, researchers examine how stress affects autophagy in metabolic tissues, such as blood, as well as in the brain. They also test whether therapies that modulate autophagy can alleviate the effects of stress.\u00a0\u201cWe want to understand how far the impact of stress extends\u00a0\u2013\u00a0from the molecular level all the way to behavior,\u201d says Dr.\u00a0Contu.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

When autophagy\u00a0fails to\u00a0function properly, toxic molecules can accumulate in the body and reach the brain, disrupting its activity. \u201cEven a minor dysfunction in the removal of cellular byproducts can have major consequences. This is precisely where metabolic and neuropsychiatric disorders intersect,\u201d the researcher explains. Autophagy is therefore not only a cleaning mechanism but also plays\u00a0an important role\u00a0in communication between the body and the brain.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Metabolic mechanisms are already used in medicine. One example is the treatment of Parkinson\u2019s disease, in which patients receive L-DOPA\u00a0\u2013\u00a0a compound capable of crossing the\u00a0blood\u2013brain barrier and being converted into dopamine in the brain. The\u00a0AutoHealth\u00a0team aims to\u00a0determine\u00a0whether stimulating autophagy and improving metabolic function in peripheral tissues can influence brain function and reduce symptoms of depression or obesity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The project includes studies using experimental models of early life stress combined with metabolic challenges in adulthood, as well as analyses of two groups of patients with a history of stress\u00a0\u2013\u00a0individuals with depression and individuals with obesity. Multidirectional analyses of tissue and blood samples are expected to reveal characteristic protein and metabolite patterns associated with disrupted autophagy. In the future, these patterns may serve as indicators for assessing the effectiveness of pharmacological interventions designed to modulate autophagy and limit stress-induced damage.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cEvery cell in the body responds to stress. If we understand the mechanisms behind this process, we may find ways to mitigate that response,\u201d concludes Dr.\u00a0Contu.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Dr. Raluca Contu and Prof. Yoshinori Ohsumi during the 9th International Symposium on Autophagy, November 3\u20137, 2019, Taipei, Taiwan<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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From Japan to Poland \u2013 the researcher\u2019s scientific journey <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Dr. Raluca\u00a0Contu, a specialist in molecular biology and neurobiology, spent many years conducting research in Japan\u00a0\u2013\u00a0the country where the process of autophagy was first described. Its discoverer, Prof. Yoshinori Ohsumi, received the Nobel Prize in 2016. \u201cI was in Japan at the time\u00a0\u2013\u00a0in the right place at the right moment,\u201d recalls Dr.\u00a0Contu.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Today, Dr.\u00a0Contu\u00a0combines\u00a0expertise\u00a0in cell biology and neuropsychiatry to understand how the relationship between cellular cleaning processes and the stress response affects mental health. Asked whether individuals themselves can support these processes, she replies:\u00a0Yes,\u00a0through physical activity and a low-calorie diet. These are natural ways to activate autophagy. Returning to a more natural rhythm of life may be key to improving both mental and physical well-being.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stress triggers a cascade of complex biochemical reactions in the body. One of its consequences may be the disruption of autophagy, the cellular \u201cself-cleaning\u201d process. Dr. Viorica Raluca Contu, leader of the AutoHealth project, investigates how stress influences this mechanism and how the interplay between the body\u2019s metabolism and the brain shapes our mental health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218,"featured_media":91318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[690],"class_list":["post-92577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bez-kategorii","tag-researches"],"acf":{"czas_czytania":"3","order":"0"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-29 11:36:47","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/218"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92577"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97206,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92577\/revisions\/97206"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}