ABSTRACT
Three groups of individuals were investigated, which differed in constitution and reaction to stress. Group I comprised randomly selected individuals. Groups II and III were formed of highly qualified athletes, weight lifters and marathoners who matched those from Group I. Studies of the hormonal profile revealed significant differences in the baseline cortisol levels between Groups II and III. Evaluation of parameters of glucocorticoid reception by cultured individuals' fibroblasts also showed significant differences between Groups II and III. Employment of complex quantitative characteristics of potential cell sensitivity to the effect of physiological glucocorticoid concentrations, and of the resting biological effect of this hormone, characterising the efficacy of glucocorticoid reception in postreceptor and glucocorticoid-dependent processes in somatic cells, allowed for adequate qualitative evaluation of glucocorticoid-dependent reactions to stress on the cellular level which is indicative of the stress reaction type of the organism as a whole. Thus, genetically determined variability of cellular parameters was first revealed, the parameters being directly related to the ontogenetic formation of the stress reaction type. It is biologically understandable that this variability correlates with human resistance to long-term psychosomatic stress.
