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Female Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) Have Higher Expression of TGF‐β and Smad Signaling in Mesenteric Arteries Following the Development of Hypertension
Author(s) -
Tipton Ashlee Joy,
Sullivan Jennifer C.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.880.1
Subject(s) - mesenteric arteries , medicine , endocrinology , blood pressure , aorta , smad , transforming growth factor , artery
TGF‐β contributes to vascular damage in hypertension. Our lab has shown that female SHR have higher TGF‐β excretion than male SHR. This study tested the hypotheses that 1) hypertensive (HT) females have greater vascular TGF‐β expression than males and 2) females have greater increases in TGF‐β with the development of hypertension. Aorta and mesenteric arteries were isolated from HT (13 wks) female and male SHR and protein expression was measured. HT females had greater TGF‐β expression than males in mesenteric arteries (densitometric units (DU): 0.5±0.09 vs 0.2±0.03, p<0.5). TGF‐β levels were comparable in aorta of HT females and males. To determine if the sex difference in TGF‐β was dependent on blood pressure, mesenteric arteries were isolated from pre‐HT (5 wks) SHR. TGF‐β expression was comparable in pre‐HT females and males (DU: 0.1±0.02 vs 0.1±0.03, NS), indicating an increase in TGF‐β with hypertension only in females (p<0.05). TGF‐β effects are mediated by smad2/3. HT females had greater smad2/3 expression in mesenteric arteries than males (DU: 0.7±0.1 vs 0.4±0.07, p<0.05), and smad2/3 expression increased with hypertension only in females (DU: 4.3±0.6 vs 2.6±0.4, p<0.5). In conclusion, the development of hypertension is associated with increased TGF‐β expression and signaling in small arteries from female, but not male SHR; suggesting a greater role for TGF‐β in the development of hypertension in females.