(Circulation. 2000;101:2342.)
© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.
Brief Rapid Communications |
From thr Vascular Biology and Hypertension Program, Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Medicine (S.B., T.M., J.D., Y.-F.C., S.O.), and Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery (J.A.T.), University of Alabama at Birmingham, Ala.
Correspondence to Stephen Bakir, MD, 1047 ZRB, 703 South 19th St, Birmingham, AL 35294. E-mail sbakir{at}uab.edu
| Abstract |
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or ß isoforms of the estrogen receptor (ER) gene, calling
into question the ER dependency of the vasoprotective effect. This
study used ICI 182,780, a nonselective ER
antagonist, to test the hypothesis that the vasoprotective
effect of E2 in the rat carotid injury model is ER mediated. Methods and ResultsIntact female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups and treated with the nonselective ER antagonist ICI 182,780 (ICI; 0.5, 1.5, or 5 mg · kg-1 · d-1, subcutaneously [S.C.]) or vehicle, beginning before balloon injury of the right common carotid artery and continuing for 14 days afterward. Four groups of ovariectomized rats (OVX) were treated with 17ß estradiol (E2) (20 µg · kg-1 · d-1, S.C.) alone or combined with ICI 5 mg · kg-1 · d-1, S.C.; with ICI 5 mg · kg-1 · d-1 alone; or with vehicle according to a similar protocol. Two weeks after injury, rats were killed, and the carotid arteries were evaluated for neointima formation using morphometric analysis. ICI 182,780 blunted the E2-related protective effect and increased neointima formation in injured carotid arteries of intact female rats in a dose-dependent fashion. ICI had no effect on neointima formation in OVX, but addition of ICI to E2 in OVX blocked the inhibitory effect of exogenous E2 on neointima formation.
ConclusionsThese results indicate that the vasoprotective effect of E2 in the balloon-injured rat carotid artery model is mediated by ER.
Key Words: restenosis hormones carotid arteries estrogen receptors
| Introduction |
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or ß isoform of the ER.2 3 This suggests that
expression of either of the 2 functionally distinct ERs is sufficient
to protect against pathological responses to vascular injury, that a
third, uncharacterised ER may be responsible for the vascular
protective effects of E2, or that a nongenomic, nonreceptor mediated
signaling mechanism is involved. In this study, we used ICI 182,780, a nonselective ER antagonist, alone in intact female rats (INT) or alone or in combination with 17ß-estradiol in ovariectomized (OVX) rats to test the hypothesis that E2-dependent vasoprotection in this model is ER-mediated.
| Methods |
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Rats were anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of ketamine (80 mg/kg) and xylazine (5 mg/kg). The right carotid artery was isolated by a middle cervical incision, suspended on ties, exposed, and injured with an inflated 2F Fogarty balloon catheter (Baxter V. Mueller), as previously described.1
Two weeks after injury, rats were killed with an overdose of sodium pentobarbital (75 mg/kg) and perfused with 10% formalin at a pressure of 120 mm Hg. The uterus was removed, blotted dry, and weighed to assess E2 effects. The carotid arteries were fixed and processed for morphometric examination as previously described.1 Uteri were processed similarly for histologic examination. Morphometric analysis was performed with a Bioquant II Morphometric system by a single examiner, who was blinded with respect to the experimental group to which each sample belonged. Neointima formation in the injured artery was expressed as the absolute area of intima and the ratio of the intimal area to the medial area. All protocols were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and were consistent with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH publication No. 85-23, revised 1985).
At the time of sacrifice, a 1 mL blood sample was removed from the abdominal aorta. Serum 17ß-estradiol levels were determined by commercially available radioimmunoassay kits (Diagnostic Products Corp) with an 8 pg/mL sensitivity.
Results were expressed as mean±SEM, and data were analyzed with StatView 4.0 software. Statistical comparisons of body weight, uterine weight, serum estradiol level, neointimal area, medial area, and ratio of the intimal area to the medial area among experimental groups were performed with a 1-way ANOVA. When significant differences were identified, the Sceffés multiple range test was applied to determine the level of significance. P<0.05 was considered to be significant.
| Results |
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Morphometric analysis showed that the neointimal
area of carotid arteries from INT+V rats was 0.072±0.010
mm2, a 48.9% reduction from the OVX+V group
(0.141±0.010 mm2). Administration of ICI to INT
rats dose dependently increased neointima formation
(Table
), and in the highest ICI dose
group, neointimal area (0.122±0.015
mm2) was similar to that seen in OVX+V rats.
Neointimal area in OVX+E2 rats was 0.051±0.004
mm2, a 61% reduction compared with OVX+V rats
(Table
). Treatment with ICI 5.0 did not alter
neointimal area in OVX rats but did abolish the protective
effect of E2 (neointima 0.124±0.017
mm2) in these animals. In this model of vascular
injury, the medial area was not altered, so intima/media ratios (Figure 2
) closely reflected absolute neointimal area.
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Serum 17-ß estradiol levels were similar in OVX+E2 and INT+V
rats (Table
); ICI treatment in the INT rats increased estradiol
levels dose dependently. In the highest ICI dose group, 17-ß
estradiol levels were 2-fold higher than in INT+V. In OVX+E2 rats, ICI
produced a nonsignificant increase in serum 17-ß estradiol levels
compared with OVX+E2 (P=0.95, Table
). Serum 17-ß
estradiol concentration in OVX+V rats was at the level of sensitivity
of the assay.
In INT rats, ICI treatment decreased uterine weight in a dose-dependent
fashion (Table
). Uterine weights in OVX rats were significantly
increased by E2 treatment to values similar to those in INT; addition
of ICI completely blocked the trophic effect of E2 on the uterus, as
reflected in both uterine weights and the histologic appearance of
uterine epithelial (endometrial) cells (data not shown).
| Discussion |
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and ERß) inhibited the
vasoprotective effects of endogenous E2 in INT, and of
exogenous E2 in OVX rats, indicating for the first time that the
vasoprotective effects of E2 are ER-dependent.
Studies in animal models of atherosclerosis and
vascular injury, as well as in human subjects, have revealed a variety
of mechanisms by which E2 promotes normal vascular function and
attenuates the cellular response to noxious stimuli.4 5
These include indirect systemic effects (alterations in plasma
lipoprotein profiles, improvement in hemodynamic
parameters, antioxidant actions, and beneficial effects on
coagulation and fibrinolytic systems) and direct effects on the vessel
wall.4 5 6 7 Many of the direct vascular effects of E2
involve modulation of gene programs associated with vascular growth and
migration/proliferation of a variety of vascular cell types. These
E2-induced alterations in gene expression are ER-dependent and are
mediated by the classic ER signaling pathway, which involves entry of
E2 into the cell, translocation to the nucleus, binding to the nuclear
ER (
or ß subtype), binding of the resultant complex to E2
responsive target genes, and transcriptional regulation of these
genes.8 This signaling mechanism requires hours to achieve
its final effects. In addition, E2 acts via more rapid nongenomic
mechanisms to mediate more immediate vascular responses, eg, inhibition
of inward Ca2+ current in vascular smooth muscle
cells and stimulation of endothelium-dependent
vasodilation. Whether these nongenomic responses are ER-dependent is a
matter of controversy.
The rapid nongenomic responses to E2 do not require gene
transcription and have classically been thought not to involve
interactions with ERs. Only recently has it been shown that both ER
and ERß are expressed in cell membranes in addition to their
classical nuclear positions and that short-term effects of E2 relevant
to cardiovascular function can be mediated by classical
ERs functioning in a novel, nongenomic manner.9 10
This study provided the first direct evidence that the
vasoprotective effects of E2 in the rat carotid injury model are
mediated through ERs. Together with the previous observations of
Iafrati et al2 and Karas et al3 ,
these findings suggest that expression of either the ER
or ERß
subtype in injured blood vessels is sufficient to activate the
signaling mechanism(s) responsible for E2-mediated vasoprotection or
that a novel, not yet discovered, ER may be responsible. Whether these
vasoprotective effects are genomically and/or nongenomically mediated
and dependent on nuclear and/or membrane-bound ERs remains to be
determined, as does the signaling pathway involved. A clearer
understanding of these E2-related effects may facilitate translation of
the benefits seen in animal models into effective preventative or
therapeutic strategies for cardiovascular disease in
humans.
| Acknowledgments |
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Received December 22, 1999; revision received March 27, 2000; accepted March 30, 2000.
| References |
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