{
  "abstract": "Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a neuropsychiatric disorder marked by compulsive weight-loss and hyperactivity, with poorly understood underlying mechanisms and limited treatment outcomes. Here we show that women with AN, at the first medical evaluation, exhibit hyperactivity and hypercortisolemia, together with a reduced immune cell count yet paradoxically showing increased levels of cell activation. One year later, only subjects considered in remission showed greater increases in cortisol and cytokine levels, along with enhanced monocyte differentiation and recruitment. Using the activity-based anorexia (ABA) rat model, we reproduced AN core features, including hypercorticosteronemia, and observed innate-skewed immune profiles, as well as persistent microglial and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) dysfunction in the ventral hippocampus. Pharmacological blockade of GR with RU486 attenuated hyperactivity and reshaped microglial phenotype in the ventral hippocampus. Our results suggest that cortisol elevation and immune cell adaptation may perpetuate disease vulnerability beyond weight normalization, challenging the notion of weight regain as an indicator of remission.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences “Rodolfo Paoletti”, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Balzaretti 9, 20133 Milan, Italy",
    "Center for Neuroscience, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy",
    "Department of Mental Health and Addiction, Asst Santi Paolo e Carlo, Milan, Italy",
    "Department of Health Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 14,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Francesca Mottarlini",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8172-1384"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lorenzo Da Dalt",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6298-8689"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Susanna Parolaro"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Andrea Baragetti"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Beatrice Rizzi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sofia Taddini"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Anna Chiara Cigognini"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Francesca Vairano"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Sara Bertelli"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Armando D’Agostino"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Fabrizia Bonacina"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Giuseppe Danilo Norata",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6081-1257"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Fabio Fumagalli",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8814-7706"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lucia Caffino",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8045-3146"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cmtkkvztyamkt.bib",
  "cited_by": 1,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41380-026-03756-4",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13736517/",
  "id": "cmtkkvztyamkt",
  "issns": [
    "1359-4184",
    "1476-5578"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-026-03756-4",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3203|Eating Disorders and Behaviors"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7169793442",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-026-03756-4.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13736517",
  "pmid": "42477442",
  "published": "2026-07-20",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cmtkkvztyamkt.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-09T12:21:56Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13736517",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-026-03756-4"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:3203|Eating Disorders and Behaviors",
      "subfield": "psychiatry"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Glucocorticoid signalling dysregulation and immune cell adaptation in Anorexia Nervosa",
  "title_text": "Glucocorticoid signalling dysregulation and immune cell adaptation in Anorexia Nervosa",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T12:21:56Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cmtkkvztyamkt",
  "venue": "Molecular Psychiatry",
  "versions": []
}