Estrogen inhibition of corticoid hypertension in chickens

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 activation, via downregulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase 1, mediates sex differences in desoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertension vascular reactivity

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 has been reported to play a role in vascular dysfunction associated with mineralocorticoid hypertension. We hypothesized that, compared with female rats, an upregulation of ERK1/2 signaling in the vasculature of male rats contributes to augmented contractile responses in mineralocorticoid hypertension. Uninephrectomized male and female Sprague-Dawley rats received desoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) pellets (200 mg per animal) and saline to drink for 3 weeks. Control uninephrectomized rats received tap water to drink. Blood pressure, measured by telemetry, was significantly higher in male DOCA rats (191+/-3 mm Hg) compared with female DOCA rats (172+/-7 mm Hg; n=5). DOCA treatment resulted in augmented contractile responses to phenylephrine in aorta (22+/-3 mN; n=6) and small mesenteric arteries (13+/-2 mN; n=6) from male DOCA rats versus uninephrectomized male rats (16+/-3 and 10+/-2 mN, respectively; P<0.05) and female DOCA rats (15+/-1 and 11+/-1 mN, respectively). ERK1/2 inhibition with PD-98059 (10 micromol/L) abrogated increased contraction to phenylephrine in aorta (14+/-2 mN) and small mesenteric arteries (10+/-2 mN) from male DOCA rats, without any effects in arteries from male uninephrectomized or female animals. Compared with the other groups, phosphorylated ERK1/2 levels were increased in the aorta from male DOCA rats, whereas mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase 1 expression was decreased. Interleukin-10 plasma levels, which positively regulate mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase 1 activity, were reduced in male DOCA-salt rats. We speculate that augmented vascular reactivity in male hypertensive rats is mediated via activation of the ERK1/2 pathway. In addition, mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase 1 and interleukin 10 play regulatory roles in this process.

Therapeutic manipulation of glucocorticoid metabolism in cardiovascular disease

The therapeutic potential for manipulation of glucocorticoid metabolism in cardiovascular disease was revolutionized by the recognition that access of glucocorticoids to their receptors is regulated in a tissue-specific manner by the isozymes of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. Selective inhibitors of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 have been shown recently to ameliorate cardiovascular risk factors and inhibit the development of atherosclerosis. This article addresses the possibility that inhibition of 11beta-hydroxsteroid dehydrogenase type 1 activity in cells of the cardiovascular system contributes to this beneficial action. The link between glucocorticoids and cardiovascular disease is complex as glucocorticoid excess is linked with increased cardiovascular events but glucocorticoid administration can reduce atherogenesis and restenosis in animal models. There is considerable evidence that glucocorticoids can interact directly with cells of the cardiovascular system to alter their function and structure and the inflammatory response to injury. These actions may be regulated by glucocorticoid and/or mineralocorticoid receptors but are also dependent on the 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases which may be expressed in cardiac, vascular (endothelial, smooth muscle) and inflammatory (macrophages, neutrophils) cells. The activity of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases in these cells is dependent upon differentiation state, the action of pro-inflammaotory cytokines and the influence of endogenous inhibitors (oxysterols, bile acids). Further investigations are required to clarify the link between glucocorticoid excess and cardiovascular events and to determine the mechanism through which glucocorticoid treatment inhibits atherosclerosis/restenosis. This will provide greater insights into the potential benefit of selective 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase inhibitors in treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Gonadectomy abolishes the sexual dimorphism in DOC-salt hypertension in the rat

Following our previous report that development of DOC-salt hypertension is attenuated in female rats, we have now determined the effects of gonadectomy on the pathogenesis of this model of hypertension. Male and female rats were gonadectomized at age three weeks, and the DOC-salt protocol was initiated two weeks later and continued for three weeks. In intact rats, hypertension developed more rapidly and to a higher level in males than in females. By contrast, in gonadectomized rats, there was no sex difference in blood pressure because the development of hypertension was attenuated in males and exacerbated in females. None of these differences could be attributed to differences in either saline consumption or vasopressin release since no differences were found among the groups for either variable. Although the underlying mechanisms are uncertain, our results clearly show that the gonadal hormones affect the development of DOC-salt hypertension in the rat.

Sex differences in the changes in sympathetic nerve activity when arterial pressure is raised by infusion of angiotensin and noradrenaline

1. In cats and dogs impulse frequency was studied in single and few-fibre preparations of the cervical sympathetic nerves when blood pressure was raised in steps to about 200 mm Hg by infusions of noradrenaline and angiotensin. Two forms of frequency/blood pressure relationships were found which differed in their distribution between the sexes.2. In females, both normal and ovariectomized, there was an inverse linear relationship between spike frequency and blood pressure over the whole range of blood pressure studied. The same was true in castrated males and normal males pretreated with oestrogens.3. In normal males the inverse linear relationship held to a pressure of about 150 mm Hg. At higher pressures the sympathetic discharge rate remained steady or increased. This was also found in castrated males pretreated with testosterone. There was a statistically significant difference between the responses of these animals and those of normal females and castrated or oestrogen treated males.4. The sex difference originates peripherally since the responses of both sexes were similar following baroreceptor and chemoreceptor denervation. During ventilation with oxygen instead of air the male pattern of response becomes like that of the female. The latter observation implicated the chemoreceptors.5. alpha adrenoceptor blockade with phenoxybenzamine and phentolamine localized to the region of the carotid bifurcation in male cats abolished the increase in sympathetic discharge rate at high blood pressure induced by noradrenaline, but did not alter the response to angiotensin.6. Records of spike frequency in single and few-fibre preparations of chemoreceptor units in the sinus nerves of cats also showed an inverse relationship between frequency and blood pressure in females. In males at the higher pressures, the discharge rate was steady or increased. The increased chemoreceptor discharge at high pressures in males was abolished by ventilation with oxygen instead of air.7. The sex difference in behaviour of chemoreceptor units could not be explained by differences in either total carotid body blood flow or arterial oxygen tension.8. It is tentatively concluded that the observed sex difference is related to the state of the blood supply to the chemoreceptors and that, in males, testosterone sensitizes the blood vessels to vasoconstrictors, so that at high pressures blood is diverted through shunts and the chemoreceptors are subjected to a stagnant hypoxia.