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Investigating systemic effects of chronic stress on hepatic and cardiac tissue in female Wistar rats
Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613860650811392 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Andrews, Jasmine Cameron |
| author2 | Essop, Faadiel |
| author_browse | Andrews, Jasmine Cameron Essop, Faadiel |
| author_facet | Essop, Faadiel Andrews, Jasmine Cameron |
| author_sort | Andrews, Jasmine Cameron |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135552 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:42:51.481Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135552 Investigating systemic effects of chronic stress on hepatic and cardiac tissue in female Wistar rats Andrews, Jasmine Cameron Essop, Faadiel Joseph, Danzil Cairns, Megan Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Biomedical Sciences. Division of Medical Physiology. Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. Andrews, J. C. 2026. Investigating systemic effects of chronic stress on hepatic and cardiac tissue in female Wistar rats. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/490d25da-a753-47e2-aa9a-f67730ba06a5 Chronic psychosocial stress contributes to cardiometabolic disease onset and progression through various mechanisms including through HPA-axis dysregulation, inflammation, oxidative stress, and autophagic impairment. Growing evidence suggests females may be disproportionately vulnerable to these effects, yet mechanistic insight is lacking. This study investigated these molecular mechanisms within female Wistar rat cardiac and hepatic tissues collected from a chronic restraint stress (CRS) parent study. Snap-frozen cardiac and hepatic tissues from female Wistar rats exposed to 28 days of CRS (n=8) or control conditions (n=8) were analysed. Redox balance was assessed via antioxidant assays (superoxide dismutase [SOD], catalase, and ORAC) and oxidative damage marker (malondialdehyde adducts) in whole-cell lysates and subcellular fractions. Autophagy-related proteins (p62, LC3B, Beclin-1, SNAP29, SOD1/2) were quantified by Western blotting. CRS induced mild oxidative damage restricted to cardiac tissue, with reduced SOD activity and elevated compartmental malondialdehyde, while hepatic redox parameters remained unaltered. Whole-cell autophagy markers were stable in both organs. Subcellular analyses, limited by crude fractions from snap-frozen tissue, revealed innate organ differences preserved under CRS: liver displaying higher heavy-membrane recovery of LC3B-II and SNAP29, consistent with its greater constitutive autophagic activity. The heart exhibited no such enrichment and no CRS-induced autophagic response. Females showed effective short-term redox protection under chronic stress but display organ-specific vulnerabilities. The liver’s robust basal autophagy enhances resilience, whereas the heart’s lower activity may predispose it to cumulative damage. These findings emphasise the need for female-inclusive stress research and suggest sex-specific therapies targeting autophagic competence in stress-related cardiometabolic disease. Masters 2026-04-01T10:30:11Z 2026-04-01T10:30:11Z 2026-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135552 en Stellenbosch University 104 pages : ill. application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Andrews, Jasmine Cameron Investigating systemic effects of chronic stress on hepatic and cardiac tissue in female Wistar rats |
| title | Investigating systemic effects of chronic stress on hepatic and cardiac tissue in female Wistar rats |
| title_full | Investigating systemic effects of chronic stress on hepatic and cardiac tissue in female Wistar rats |
| title_fullStr | Investigating systemic effects of chronic stress on hepatic and cardiac tissue in female Wistar rats |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigating systemic effects of chronic stress on hepatic and cardiac tissue in female Wistar rats |
| title_short | Investigating systemic effects of chronic stress on hepatic and cardiac tissue in female Wistar rats |
| title_sort | investigating systemic effects of chronic stress on hepatic and cardiac tissue in female wistar rats |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135552 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT andrewsjasminecameron investigatingsystemiceffectsofchronicstressonhepaticandcardiactissueinfemalewistarrats |