Estrogen pretreatment protects males against hypoxia-induced immune depression.

• Abstract: Hypoxemia depresses cell-mediated immune functions in males, whereas proestrous females do not show such a depression. We hypothesized that elevated systemic estradiol levels in proestrous females prevent hypoxemia-induced immune depression. To study this hypothesis, male C3H/HeN mice were pretreated with 17 beta-estradiol (E(2), 40 microg/kg body wt sc) or vehicle for 3 days before induction of hypoxemia and again immediately before induction of hypoxia. The mice were subjected to hypoxemia (95% N(2)-5% O(2)) or sham hypoxemia (room air) for 60 min, and plasma and spleen cells were collected 2 h later. In vehicle-treated mice, splenocyte proliferation and interleukin-2 and interleukin-3 production were depressed after hypoxemia. E(2)-pretreated animals, however, displayed no such depression in splenic T cell parameters after hypoxemia. Splenic macrophage cytokine production was also depressed in vehicle-treated mice subjected to hypoxia, whereas it was normal in E(2)-pretreated mice. In summary, these findings indicate that administration of E(2) before hypoxemia prevented the depression of cell-mediated immune functions. Thus administration of 17 beta-estradiol in high-risk patients before major surgery might decrease hypoxemia-induced immune depression under those conditions.
• Authors: Markus W Knöferl, Martin G Schwacha, Doraid Jarrar, Martin K Angele, Keith Fragoza, Kirby I Bland, Irshad H Chaudry (Affiliation: Center for Surgical Research and Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA.)
• Journal: American journal of physiology. Cell physiology (Am J Physiol Cell Physiol) Vol. 282 Issue 5 Pg. C1087-92 (May 2002) ISSN: 0363-6143 [Print] United States
• PMID: 11940524 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.)

Chemical References

• Interleukins
• Lipopolysaccharides
• Concanavalin A
• Dinoprostone
• Estradiol

Topics

• Animals
• Anoxia (immunology, physiopathology)
• Cells, Cultured
• Concanavalin A (pharmacology)
• Dinoprostone (immunology, metabolism)
• Estradiol (blood, immunology, pharmacology)
• Female
• Immune System (physiology)
• Interleukins (blood, immunology)
• Lipopolysaccharides (pharmacology)
• Male
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred C3H
• Random Allocation
• Spleen (cytology, drug effects, immunology)