Regulation of catecholamine-synthesizing enzymes in adrenals of Wistar rats under chronic stress.

We have shown previously that chronic social stress has differential effects on adrenal weight and on tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT) specific activity, depending on the experimental design. To determine the role of the sympathetic nervous system and of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPAA) in these modifications, we studied the mechanisms of regulation of these parameters in basal conditions as well as in response to reserpine treatment and chronic social stress in the Wistar strain of rats. We found that the adrenal weight is mostly dependent on the activity of the HPAA, which is increased in male rats living in mixed-sex colonies. PNMT specific activity is regulated by splanchnic innervation, confirming that its induction by social instability is a consequence of sympathetic nervous system hyperactivity. The increase of TH specific activity, as seen in unstable, mixed-sex colonies, is not under sympathetic control. However, we show that the pituitary may exert a tonic inhibitory influence, dependent on the sympathetic innervation. These data confirm that the HPAA and the sympathetic nervous system may be independently triggered in chronic social stress conditions.