Abstract | OBJECTIVE: Decreased dehydroepiandrosterone ( DHEA) levels are associated with endothelial dysfunction and increased cardiovascular mortality in postmenopausal women. Using ovariectomized rats, we first defined whether expression of sigma-1 receptor (Sig-1R) in the aorta is regulated following pressure overload (PO) and also after DHEA treatment. We also investigated effects of DHEA known as Sig-1R agonist on impaired Akt/ endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) signaling in the thoracic aorta under PO. RESEARCH DESIGN/METHODS: Wistar rats subjected to bilateral ovariectomy (OVX) were further treated with abdominal aortic stenosis 2 weeks later. DHEA (15 and 30 mg/kg) was administered orally once a day for 14 days starting from 2 weeks after the aortic banding. RESULTS: Time course study indicated that expression of Sig-1R expression and eNOS decreased time dependently in the thoracic aorta from 1 to 4 weeks after PO. DHEA treatment significantly inhibited the decreased Sig-1R expression in the thoracic aorta. The DHEA treatment also significantly restored PO-induced impaired Akt phosphorylation and stimulated eNOS protein expression with concomitant increased Akt-mediated eNOS phosphorylation (Ser1177). We did not find any changes in the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and PKCĪ± in the aorta following PO and after treatment with DHEA. CONCLUSION: We here reported, for the first time, that DHEA treatment induces the upregulation and stimulation of Sig-1R in the thoracic aorta that stimulate Sig-1R-mediated Akt-eNOS signaling pathways in ovariectomized rats under PO.
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Authors | Md Shenuarin Bhuiyan, Hideaki Tagashira, Kohji Fukunaga |
Journal | Cardiovascular therapeutics
(Cardiovasc Ther)
Vol. 29
Issue 4
Pg. 219-30
(Aug 2011)
ISSN: 1755-5922 [Electronic] England |
PMID | 20553277
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
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Copyright | © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. |
Chemical References |
- Receptors, sigma
- Dehydroepiandrosterone
- Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III
- Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
|
Topics |
- Animals
- Aorta, Thoracic
(metabolism)
- Dehydroepiandrosterone
(pharmacology, therapeutic use)
- Female
- Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular
(metabolism)
- Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III
(physiology)
- Ovariectomy
- Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
(physiology)
- Rats
- Rats, Wistar
- Receptors, sigma
(drug effects, physiology)
- Signal Transduction
(physiology)
- Sigma-1 Receptor
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