VASOACTIVITY AND SEX HORMONES IN MOUSE INTERLOBAR ARTERIES

Premenopausal women show different blood pressure control and lower incidence for cardiovascular diseases compared to men. Sex hormones may be responsible for this phenomenon. Kidney perfusion and filtration have been related to blood pressure control. We therefore test the hypothesis that sex hormone such testosterone and estradiol influence vasoreactivity of interlobar arteries from mice. Interlobar arteries were obtained from C57BL6 female and male mice and mounted in wire myograph under isometric conditions. Non‐genomic effects of 17‐beta‐estradiol and testosterone were investigated. Responses to KCl and Phenylephrine were similar in vessels of female and male mice. Female mice showed negligible reaction to Ang II, while vessels of male mice contracted up to 12% of the maximum KCl response. Testosterone and estradiol relaxed pre‐constricted vessels dose dependently and similarly. There were no sex related differences for this dilator action. Pretreatment with testosterone and estradiol only slightly modulated the concentration response curves for Phenylephrine, Angiotensin II and Acetylcholine in female and male mice. The study demonstrates similar dilator effects of sex hormones in female and male mice, which suggest a beneficial action of both estrogens and testosterone on the cardiovascular system and possible preventive role against the development of cardiovascular diseases.