Chronic stress drives anxiety through brain iron signaling, mouse study shows
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On October 15, 2026, Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy published findings from teams led by Wang Fudi and Min Junxia at Zhejiang University, together with Wang Zhuo's group at South China University of Technology, identifying a neuronal-astrocytic iron signaling mechanism behind stress-induced anxiety. In mice, chronic stress activates the HMGB1-TLR4-hepcidin-FPN signaling cascade, which produces anxiety-like behavior through a route independent of the classical monoamine system that most current anxiety research and drug development target. The work positions brain iron regulation as a distinct pathway in anxiety biology. Open questions include how the cascade behaves in humans and whether targeting iron transport components could yield new treatments.
Written by a model from the reports · updated 3 hours ago
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- WeChatWang, Min and Wang teams reveal neuronal-astrocytic iron signaling mechanism driving anxiety in STTT
On October 15, 2026, teams led by Wang Fudi and Min Junxia at Zhejiang University and Wang Zhuo at South China University of Technology reported in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy that chronic stress induces anxiety-like behavior in mice through the HMGB1-TLR4-hepcidin-FPN signaling cascade, independent of the classical monoamine system.
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