Researchers at Michigan State University in East Lansing have revealed how a protein known as corticotropin-releasing factor receptor subtype 1 (CRF1) responds to stress by sending signals to specific immune cells. This causes immune cells to release chemical substances that can trigger a host of diseases, including asthma, lupus, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Study co-author Adam Moeser, of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University, and colleagues recently reported their findings in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology. We all experience stress, and we've probably ended up with stress-induced sickness at one point or another. In fact, according to the 2015 Stress in America Survey, around 31 percent of adults in the United States report that stress has a strong or very strong influence on their physical health.

But how is it that psychological stress can make us physically ill? To help shed some light, Moeser and colleagues investigated the effects of stress on mast cells.