Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40209864›Full record

ArticleBrain, behavior, and immunity2025

Fueling the fire in the lung-brain axis: The salience network connects allergen-provoked TH17 responses to psychological stress in asthma.

Estelle T Higgins, William W Busse, Stephane Esnault, Bradley T Christian, Danika R Klaus, Julia C Bach, Corrina J Frye, Melissa A Rosenkranz

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. A molecular systems architecture of asthma.Frontiers in immunology · 2026
    Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Estelle T HigginsDepartment of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1202 W. Johnson St., Madison, WI 53706, United States; Center for Healthy Minds, 625 W Washington Ave, Madison, WI 53703, United States.
William W BusseDepartment of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health - Madison, 600 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53792, United States.
Stephane EsnaultDepartment of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health - Madison, 600 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53792, United States; University of Lille, INSERM, CHU Lille, U1286 - INFINITE - Institute for Translational Research in Inflammation, F-59000 Lille, France.
Bradley T ChristianWaisman Brain Imaging Lab, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53705, United States.
Danika R KlausDepartment of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health - Madison, 600 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53792, United States.
Julia C BachDepartment of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health - Madison, 600 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53792, United States.
Corrina J FryeDeveloping Brain Imaging Lab, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53705, United States.
Melissa A RosenkranzDepartment of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1202 W. Johnson St., Madison, WI 53706, United States; Center for Healthy Minds, 625 W Washington Ave, Madison, WI 53703, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6001 Research Park Blvd, Madison, WI 53719, United States. Electronic address: melissa.rosenkranz@wisc.edu.

Funding

TRAINING PROGRAM IN EMOTION RESEARCHT32MH018931 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI Richard J Davidson · 1989 to 2026
$11.6M
Waisman Center Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research CenterP50HD105353 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI Qiang Chang · 2021 to 2026
$8.5M
Asthmatic Inflammation and Neurocircuitry ActivationR01HL123284 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI BUSSE, WILLIAM W. · 2016 to 2019
$2.9M
Investigating the mechanisms by which systemic inflammation promotes Alzheimer’s disease: Asthma as a model and modifiable risk factorRF1AG082215 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI JARJOUR, NIZAR N, ROSENKRANZ, MELISSA A · 2023 to 2023
$2.3M
NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL123284NIA NIH HHS RF1 AG082215NICHD NIH HHS P50 HD105353NIMH NIH HHS T32 MH018931
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAsthma, a highly prevalent chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, results in an average of 10 deaths per day in the U.S., and psychological stress hinders its effective management. Threat-sensitive neurocircuitry, active during psychological stress, may intensify airway inflammatory responses and contribute to poor clinical outcomes. However, the neural mechanisms and descending pathways connecting acute stress and inflammatory responses to allergen exposure remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that stress-induced engagement of the salience network would prime Th17 immune pathways and potentiate airway inflammation.

methodsWe measured brain glucose metabolism during the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and a non-stressful control task using [

resultsAs expected, the WL-AG increased all inflammatory biomarkers. Acute stress significantly increased salivary cortisol (t(27.3) = -27.3, p < 0.01), but did not significantly affect airway inflammation overall. Instead, more robust cortisol responses to stress predicted increased glucose metabolism in the amygdala, insula, and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, key nodes in the salience network, as well as increased IL-23A mRNA expression (t(22.1) = 2.38, p = 0.026) and FeNO (t(21.5) = 2.17, p = 0.041). Moreover, differential increases in amygdala and dACC glucose metabolism predicted differential increases IL-23A mRNA expression following WL-AG. In addition, compared to low chronic stress, high chronic stress was associated with enhanced IL-17A mRNA expression in response to acute stress and WL-AG.

conclusionsIndividual differences in salience network and cortisol responses to acute stress predict enhanced allergen challenge-provoked Th17-related responses, advancing our understanding of the efferent arm of the lung-brain axis in asthma. This work underscores the importance of translational research for the development of novel interventions that target stress-sensitive brain and immune pathways.

Indexed as

AsthmaBrainStress, PsychologicalTh17 CellsAdultAllergensFemaleGlucoseHumansHydrocortisoneInflammationLungMaleMiddle AgedPositron-Emission TomographySalivaAllergensGlucoseHydrocortisoneAcute stressAsthmaChronic stressCortisolInflammationNeuroimagingTh17

Identifiers

PMID40209864
PMCPMC12286730

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.