PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS INDUCES TUBULOINTERSTITIAL NEPHRITIS UNRELATED TO HYPERTENSION IN CBA MICE

1. Groups of mice interacting socially in complex population cages become hypertensive. Some also develop fatal chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis. 2. Long-term administration of the cardioselective β-blocker metoprolol controls stress-induced elevation of plasma renin and adrenal tyrosine hydroxylase. It also normalizes blood pressure. Despite the effectiveness of this sympathetic blockade, the incidence of nephritis was not diminished. 3. The fact that stress-induced increases of adrenal weight and plasma cortico-sterone persist during metoprolol treatment points to the independence of the pituitary-adrenal cortical system and its possible role in the aetiology of renal disease.