Heart Attack Increases Glucocorticoid Secretion, Leads to Low White Blood Cell Count in Mice

Article title: Circulating lymphocyte trafficking to the bone marrow contributes to lymphopenia in myocardial infarction

Authors: Yonggang Ma, Xiaoyuan Yang, Nuria Villalba, Victor Chatterjee, Amanda Reynolds, Sam Spence, Mack H. Wu, Sarah Y. Yuan

From the authors: “This study provides the first evidence that [myocardial infarction] activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to increase glucocorticoid secretion, and elevated circulating glucocorticoids induce blood lymphocytes trafficking to the bone marrow, leading to lymphopenia.”

This study is highlighted as one of April’s “best of the best” as part of the American Physiological Society's APSselect program.