Psychosocial stress-related changes in gene expression of norepinephrine biosynthetic enzymes in stellate ganglia of adult rats.

In this study we investigated the changes in norepinephrine biosynthetic enzymes tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) and phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT) gene expression in the stellate ganglia of naive controls and long-term socially isolated (12 weeks) adult rats and the response of these animals to additional immobilization stress. Psychosocial stress produced a significant increase of both TH mRNA and DBH mRNA levels in stellate ganglia. Additional immobilization of long-term psychosocially stressed rats expressed no effect on gene expression of these enzymes. The results presented here suggest that psychosocial stress-induced increase in gene expression of norepinephrine biosynthetic enzymes in stellate ganglia may be connected to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease.