Villar Inmaculada C, Hobbs Adrian J, Ahluwalia Amrita
Department of Pharmacology, University College London, Medical Sciences Building, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
J Endocrinol. 2008 Jun;197(3):447-62. doi: 10.1677/JOE-08-0070.
The vascular endothelium plays a crucial role in the regulation of vascular homeostasis by controlling vascular tone, coagulation, and inflammatory responses. These actions are exerted by endothelial factors including nitric oxide, prostacyclin, and endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF). The greater incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in men and postmenopausal women compared with premenopausal women implies a vasoprotective phenotype of females, which may be influenced by sex hormones. These hormones, particularly estrogen, have modulatory effects on the endothelium and circulating cells that have been implicated in vascular inflammation and in the development of CVD. EDHF seems to be the predominant endothelial factor in the resistance vasculature of females and this mediator could afford the beneficial cardiovascular risk profile observed in premenopausal woman. In this review, we discuss sex differences in EDHF biology and how sex hormones can modulate EDHF responses. We also review the implication of sex hormone-dependent regulation of EDHF in inflammatory processes, platelet function, and repair after vascular damage, each of which have a critical role in several aspects of the pathogenesis of CVD.
血管内皮通过控制血管张力、凝血和炎症反应，在调节血管稳态中发挥关键作用。这些作用由包括一氧化氮、前列环素和内皮衍生超极化因子（EDHF）在内的内皮因子发挥。与绝经前女性相比，男性和绝经后女性心血管疾病（CVD）的发病率更高，这意味着女性具有血管保护表型，这可能受性激素影响。这些激素，尤其是雌激素，对内皮和循环细胞具有调节作用，而这些细胞与血管炎症和CVD的发展有关。EDHF似乎是女性阻力血管中主要的内皮因子，这种介质可能赋予绝经前女性所观察到的有益心血管风险特征。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了EDHF生物学中的性别差异以及性激素如何调节EDHF反应。我们还综述了EDHF的性激素依赖性调节在炎症过程、血小板功能和血管损伤后修复中的意义，这些在CVD发病机制的多个方面都起着关键作用。
