Researchers subjected male mice to 14 days of chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) to model how social adversity drives cardiometabolic disease. Defeated mice gained weight, showed elevated lean and fluid mass, and displayed somatic signs of chronic stress. Anxiety-like behavior increased significantly on elevated plus maze and open field tests. Cardiovascular telemetry revealed that blood pressure spikes during early defeat sessions initially resolved overnight but became sustained elevations by day 14. Heart rate variability and baroreflex sensitivity both declined, pointing to autonomic dysfunction. Adrenal gland RNA sequencing uncovered transcriptomic changes consistent with altered HPA axis activity and sympathetic tone. Together the findings establish CSDS as a robust mouse model for studying stress-induced hypertension and its neurological underpinnings.
