Endothelial dysfunction may be driven by a synergism of epinephrine and TNFα via prolonged STAT3 activation

Abstract

Background and Aims: Epidemiologic studies have highlighted the association between chronic psychosocial stressors and adverse cardiovascular outcomes; however, the mechanistic relationship between psychosocial stress and atherosclerosis is not well understood. Recent studies have found that epinephrine and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) are upregulated in individuals reporting higher levels of chronic stress. Our aim was to evaluate a potential synergistic effect of epinephrine and TNFα (E/T) on human aortic endothelial cells (HAoEC) and elucidate the molecular signaling events that potentially drive stress-induced endothelial dysfunction.