Esther M. Sternberg, M.D., Chief

The Section on Neuroendocrine Immunology and Behavior (SNIB) is an independent Section reporting directly to the Acting Scientific Director, NIMH. The mission of the SNIB is to advance the understanding of the role of neuroendocrine and neural factors in susceptibility and resistance to immune mediated disorders, including autoimmune, inflammatory and infectious disorders. These studies are carried out at a molecular level (glucocorticoid, estrogen and other nuclear hormone receptors; cytokine and cytokine receptors); cellular level (immune/inflammatory responses; hypothalamic cell neurohormone and neuropeptide production); neuroanatomical level (neurohormone and immune molecule mRNA and peptide expression in brain); systems level (neuroendocrine, immune and physiological responses). While previous studies primarily focused on neural and hypothalamic mechanisms in susceptibility and resistance to inflammatory disease in rat models, current studies focus on bacterial toxin repression of the glucocorticoid receptor, and the role of this effect in inflammation and shock. This focus stems from the SNIB�s recent discovery that B. anthracis lethal toxin selectively represses the glucocorticoid and other nuclear hormone receptors (J.I. Webster et al., PNAS, 2003). These studies have important implications for understanding the pathophysiology and treatment of bacterial shock, and the role of host factors in susceptibility and resistance to infectious and pro-inflammatory agents.

The clinical research program of the SNIB focuses on developing quantitative measures for stress and immune biomarkers in ambulatory settings.

This document was last updated on: 14 September 2005