It is highly likely that at some point during a human’s life they will experience the rush of adrenaline coursing through their body. This process is especially common among athletes prior to and during competitions. Adrenaline’s effect on an individual’s physical performance has been positively correlated to various physiological and metabolic changes (Krahenbuhl, 1975). The effects of adrenaline on neurons has been widely researched, however less research has been conducted on the effect of adrenaline on astrocytes. Therefore, in this blog post I will explore how adrenaline affects astrocytes and the consequential impact on physical performance.
Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is produced in the adrenal medulla section of the brain, along with norepinephrine which acts as a neurotransmitter (Novikova et al., 2020). Astrocytes are specialized glial cells, found in the central nervous system, that play an essential role in regulating nerve impulses throughout the body (Siracusa, Fusco and Cuzzocrea, 2019). Within astrocyte cells, the phospholipase C enzyme is activated by adrenaline, which releases calcium from the endoplasmic reticulum into the cytoplasm of the cell (Novikova et al., 2020). This process is explained in more detail in Figure 1. Increased levels of calcium strengthens muscle contractions, and speeds up nerve impulses, which allows a person to perform at heightened levels of physical activity (Pravina, Sayaji and Avinash, 2013). Therefore, adrenaline coursing through an athlete’s body throughout a competition has the potential to enhance their physical performance.
Figure 1: This diagram demonstrates how adrenaline increases the output of calcium in a cell. Adrenaline activates the phospholipase C (PLC) enzyme, which releases IP3 into the cytoplasm. IP3 then binds to a glycoprotein, acting as a calcium channel on the endoplasmic reticulum. This process leads to the release of calcium into the cytoplasm of a cell, which can then be used for various functions (Novikova et al., 2020).
Astrocytes reside within the central nervous system, and contain three types of adrenergic receptors (O’Donnell et al., 2012). An adrenergic receptor is a binding site for neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, and can act as either agonists or antagonists (Hieble, 2009). The three types of adrenergic receptors I will be analyzing act as agonists as they enhance the endocentric reactions. The first type are α1 adrenergic receptors, where the stimulation of norepinephrine binding to this receptor increases glutamate intake from extracellular space into the astrocyte cell (O’Donnell et al., 2012). The second type are α2 adrenergic receptors, which promote glycogenolysis, where glucagon is broken down into glucose. This leads to an increase in blood glucose levels, allowing an individual to experience higher performance of strenuous physical activity (Krahenbuhl, 1975). In addition, the process of glycogenolysis generates faster production of ATP, which increases an individual’s energy levels. Due to the increase in ATP, the third adrenergic receptors, β1, increase the activity of the sodium potassium ATPase pump. As a result, more glucose is transported into the cell through the membrane, which further enhances the production of glycogenolysis. This process can be seen in figure 2.
Figure 2: The green object shown in the picture is an astrocyte found in the central nervous system. On the outer edge of the cell three types of adrenergic receptors promotes glycogenolysis, which increases the blood glucose and ATP levels supplying more energy to the body
(O’Donnell et al., 2012)
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Adrenaline has a plethora of biological effects, and there is evidence to suggest that it can increase physical performance. Through analyzing the effects of adrenaline on astrocytes, we can begin to understand how a resulting increase in cytoplasmic calcium leads to stronger muscle contractions and quick nerve impulses. In addition, we can comprehend the consequential increase in glycogenolysis and resulting increase in blood glucose and energy levels. Through exploring these factors, we unravel an athlete’s potential to perform at heightened levels of physical activity, while experiencing the rush of adrenaline coursing through their body.
Literature Cited
Hieble, J.P., 2009. Adrenergic Receptors. In: L.R. Squire, ed. Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. [online] Oxford: Academic Press.pp.135–139. Available at: <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978008045046900694X> [Accessed 23 Nov. 2020].
Krahenbuhl, G.S., 1975. Adrenaline, arousal and sport. The Journal of Sports Medicine, 3(3), pp.117–121.
Novikova, I.N., Manole, A., Zherebtsov, E.A., Stavtsev, D.D., Vukolova, M.N., Dunaev, A.V., Angelova, P.R. and Abramov, A.Y., 2020. Adrenaline induces calcium signal in astrocytes and vasoconstriction via activation of monoamine oxidase. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 159, pp.15–22.
O’Donnell, J., Zeppenfeld, D., McConnell, E., Pena, S. and Nedergaard, M., 2012. Norepinephrine: A Neuromodulator That Boosts the Function of Multiple Cell Types to Optimize CNS Performance. Neurochemical research, 37(11), pp.2496–2512.
Pravina, P., Sayaji, D. and Avinash, M., 2013. Calcium and its Role in Human Body. 4, p.10. Siracusa, R., Fusco, R. and Cuzzocrea, S., 2019. Astrocytes: Role and Functions in Brain Pathologies. Frontiers in Pharmacology, [online] 10. Available at: <https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2019.01114/full> [Accessed 21 Nov.
Siracusa, R., Fusco, R. and Cuzzocrea, S., 2019. Astrocytes: Role and Functions in Brain Pathologies. Frontiers in Pharmacology, [online] 10. Available at: <https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2019.01114/full> [Accessed 21 Nov. 2020].
Comments
15 Responses to “An Athlete’s Secret Ingredient”
Hi everyone,
I remember learning about the effects of adrenaline in grade 12 biology, however we only explored the outskirts of this fascinating topic. I chose this topic as I find the material very interesting and relevant to the concepts we have been discussing in life sciences. Just last week we explored the function of agonists and antagonists, as well as the role of the sodium-potassium pump. In addition, this concept relates to chemistry as it discusses the process of glycogenolysis, as well as receptor binding sites. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post!
Emma
Hi Emma!
As an athlete myself, I really enjoyed learning more about the effects of adrenaline on the body. It’s always interesting to hear what kinds of cool functions your body can perform!
I have a couple suggestions for how to elevate your blog post:
1. I noticed a few spelling errors; “corelated” in line 4 of paragraph 1 should be “correlated” and “induvial” in line 11 of paragraph 3 should be “individual.”
2. You mention astrocyte cells early on, but you never go into detail about where they are or what purpose they serve. This is important information that I found myself really missing as it would’ve helped with general context for your information.
3. In paragraph 3 you mention three types of adrenergic receptors but only mention 2? Maybe revisit this section to see if there is more information to add here.
4. Finally, consider making your “Literature Cited” bigger and bolder so that it stands out as the end of the post a bit better. I find the preset heading size 3 to be a good size.
Overall, great work and happy editing!
Madeline
Hi Madeline,
Thank you for your feedback, it was very helpful! Thank you for pointing out the spelling errors, I have made these corrections. In regards to the second and third comment, I will keep this in mind while editing and reword certain sentences to improve clarity in these areas. In addition, I have used heading 3 to increase the size of the subheading ‘Literature Cited’. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed reading my post!
Emma
Hi Emma,
I really enjoyed reading your blog post! One suggestion would be to center your figures since they don’t take up the whole width of the page. I think this will help the post look cleaner. Otherwise, awesome job!
Cheers,
Maya
Hi Maya,
Thank you for your suggestion, I have made this correction. I am glad to hear you enjoyed reading my post!
Emma
Hey Emma!
Great post! It made for a very informative, yet interesting read! I didn’t know much about adrenaline prior to reading this blog but I definitely learned more about it today. I have a couple suggestions that will hopefully help your editing process;
In the second sentence of the first paragraph, I think “competitions” is more fitting.
I feel like it would be best if the last sentence of your introductory paragraph were to be reworded, so as to more seamlessly introduce your topic while not explicitly saying what you’ll be discussing in your blog post.
I would reword the third sentence of the second paragraph to “Adrenaline activates phospholipase C in astrocyte cells, […]”, just to help the flow of the sentence.
In the fourth sentence of the second paragraph, I think “figure 1” should be capitalized.
In the fifth sentence of the second paragraph, make sure your in text citation goes at the end of the sentence.
In the first sentence of the last paragraph I would reword part of the sentence to “adrenaline has a plethora of biological effects and […]”.
Happy editing,
Paige
Hi Paige,
Thank you for your feedback, it was very helpful! Based on your suggestions, I have changed ‘competition’ to ‘competitions’, as well as capitalizing the ‘f’ in Figure 1. I have also moved the in-text citation in the fifth sentence of the second paragraph to the end of the sentence. I really like you final suggestion, and I will incorporate this into my final draft. In regards to the second comment, I will keep this in mind as I am editing. I am glad to hear you enjoyed reading this post!
Emma
Hi Emma,
I think your blog post is very well written! I found your selection of figures very helpful and increased my understanding. I have two note on more of the grammatical side of things:
– In the last sentence of the first paragraph, I think you want to use affects instead of effects, as you want to use a verb not a noun in that sentence.
– Overall I think that there are few missing commas throughout the blog and some places where I don’t think a comma is necessary. After you are done editing it might be beneficial to quickly read your post out loud to see if you think the placement of commas needs to be altered.
Happy editing,
Bronwyn
Hi Bronwyn,
Thank you for your feedback, it was very helpful! Based on your suggestion I have changed the word ‘effect’ to ‘affect’. In addition, I will be sure to carefully read over my blog looking for misused commas.
Emma
Hi Emma,
Really interesting blog post! This was definitely a strong blog draft, as it was both interesting and informative from beginning to conclusion. I could also relate to this post because when I played sports I used to hate the adrenaline rush I got before playing without really understanding the mechanisms behind it. I do have a few recommendations that I believe you can improve on for your final draft:
1. Could you find a clearer image for figure 2? You were able to explain the processes in the caption and an explanation above, but it would be greatly helpful to find an image that is extremely clear to help your audience better understand the concept.
2. If you have space, could you provide some insight into what would happen if too much adrenaline was released? I am very interested in what would happen to the brain and body if too much adrenaline was delivered before performance.
3. You have a small spelling error here: “allowing an induvial”. I am almost certain you mean “individual” here.
4. In the final paragraph, you have a sentence that reads, “increase in glycogenolysis”. Would the better word choice be “increase of glycogenolysis”? Just a small grammatical edit to consider.
In summary, this was a great draft that is very applicable to many people reading this post. It is well-written and well-structured as well. I truly enjoyed this post and I cannot wait to read your final draft!
Happy editing,
Rith
Hi Rith,
Thank you for your feedback, it was very helpful! In regards to your second comment, I think this is a great idea and very interesting, however with the tight word limit I am focusing on the explaining the qualitative effects of adrenaline in the human body versus the amounts of adrenaline released. As well, thank you for pointing out the typo and grammatical suggestion, I have made these corrections. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed reading my blog post.
Emma
Hi Emma,
I found your blog post to be very informative and fascinating. I remember learning about the effects of adrenaline on the neural pathway in high school as well, but never realized its effects on other parts of the body. Suggestions for improvement:
1. The first time you mention astrocyte cells I was very confused on what they were. Where they’re found and why are they important to be considered alongside adrenaline. As a result, maybe consider adding some sort of an introduction explaining what they are.
2. It might just be my computer but the second figure is very blurry and it is difficult to read the text. May be switch it for an image that’s a little more clear
3. First sentence in paragraph two states “Adrenaline, also know as epinephrine, is produced…” I think it’s just a small typo but “know” should be “known”
Overall, it was very engaging and I look forward to reading your final copy.
Vritti Vashi
Hi Vritti,
Thank you for your feedback, it was very helpful! To respond to the first comment, I have revisited the second paragraph and slightly reworded it, to ensure the connection between adrenaline and astrocyte cells in clear. In terms of the second picture, I am unsure why it appears so blurry, but I am working on ways to improve the quality which will hopefully work. As well, thank you for pointing out the typo, I have made this correction. I am very glad to hear that you enjoyed reading this post!
Emma
Emma,
Great blog post! This is actually a cell signalling pathway that I learned this semester and was tested on this past Monday so it was extremely interesting to read a blog post about it. I have a few suggestions to help you with the editing process:
– Be sure that you are aware of the difference between “effect” and “affect”. Effect is a noun, but affect is a verb. I think there is at least one point where you use effect instead of affect.
– Be sure to include all of the necessary commas. There were several points where commas are needed. One example of this is after “In these astrocyte cells”.
– Ensure that you are editing to check for spelling mistakes (or using a spell-checker). Individual and correlates are both spelled wrong at one point in this.
– For your images, they are slightly blurry. If you could include them with a higher resolution, it would make it easier for the reader to understand. Your images should also be centred on the page.
– If I am not mistaken, if you are speaking about muscle cells, the influx of calcium comes from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, not the endoplasmic reticulum. I would double check this.
– Lastly, I believe it should be the alpha and beta adrenergic receptors (not a and b) so I would check this.
Overall, super informative and interesting post! Happy editing!
Ariana
Hi Ariana,
Thank you for your feedback, it was very helpful! I have gone back through and fixed the necessary grammar and spelling corrections. As well, you are in right that it should be alpha and beta adrenergic receptors, and I have now fixed this. Thank you for pointing this out! In terms of your fifth comment, in this blog post I am focusing on astrocytes which are a type of glial cell, and from the journal articles I am citing, the endoplasmic reticulum is responsible for emitting calcium. Thank you again for all your informative comments!