Long-term cardiovascular effects of high "osteoprotective" dose levels of 17β-estradiol in spontaneously hypertensive rats

The effects of estrogen replacement therapy in menopausal women are more obvious on bones than on the cardiovascular system. The optimal estrogen dosage may differ in these different parts of the body. In hypertensive rats, low doses have been shown to reduce arterial collagen and stiffness, whereas higher dosages are required for osteoprotection. From 4 to 20 weeks of age, female spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were divided into four groups: without ovariectomy, under placebo or 17 beta-estradiol (10 mu g/kg/day), and with ovariectomy under either placebo or 17 beta-estradiol (same dosage). Serial tail systolic blood pressure measurements were performed, and histomorphometry of the thoracic aorta was determined at the end of the study. Under estrogen, blood pressure was unchanged, whereas the aortic wall-to-lumen ratio was increased, particularly in the presence of ovariectomy. The elastin to collagen ratio was significantly decreased, due both to a decrease in elastin and an increase in collagen density, with no change in media thickness. The latter findings were not observed when ovariectomy was performed. Independent of changes in wall stress, high-dose estrogen increases the aortic extracellular matrix in female SHRs. This increase may be reversed in the presence of ovariectomy, suggesting that estrogen was not the only gonadal factor responsible for altered vascular structure and function.