Center for Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Münster, Albert Schweizer Campus 1, Gebäude A1, 48129 Münster, Germany.
J Mol Endocrinol. 2012 Mar 12;48(2):R13-29. doi: 10.1530/JME-11-0145. Print 2012 Apr.
Estrogens not only play a pivotal role in sexual development but are also involved in several physiological processes in various tissues including vasculature. While several epidemiological studies documented an inverse relationship between plasma estrogen levels and the incidence of cardiovascular disease and related it to the inhibition of atherosclerosis, an interventional trial showed an increase in cardiovascular events among postmenopausal women on estrogen treatment. The development of atherosclerotic lesions involves complex interplay between various pro- or anti-atherogenic processes that can be effectively studied only in vivo in appropriate animal models. With the advent of genetic engineering, transgenic mouse models of atherosclerosis have supplemented classical dietary cholesterol-induced disease models such as the cholesterol-fed rabbit. In the last two decades, these models were widely applied along with in vitro cell systems to specifically investigate the influence of estrogens on the development of early and advanced atherosclerotic lesions. The present review summarizes the results of these studies and assesses their contribution toward better understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying anti- and/or pro-atherogenic effects of estrogens in humans.
雌激素不仅在性发育中起着关键作用，而且还参与包括血管系统在内的各种组织中的几种生理过程。虽然几项流行病学研究记录了血浆雌激素水平与心血管疾病发病率之间的反比关系，并将其与动脉粥样硬化的抑制联系起来，但一项干预试验表明，在雌激素治疗的绝经后妇女中，心血管事件增加。动脉粥样硬化病变的发展涉及各种促动脉粥样硬化或抗动脉粥样硬化过程之间的复杂相互作用，这些过程只能在适当的动物模型中进行体内有效研究。随着基因工程的出现，动脉粥样硬化的转基因小鼠模型补充了经典的饮食胆固醇诱导的疾病模型，如胆固醇喂养的兔子。在过去的二十年中，这些模型与体外细胞系统一起广泛应用，专门研究雌激素对早期和晚期动脉粥样硬化病变发展的影响。本综述总结了这些研究的结果，并评估了它们对更好地理解雌激素在人类中的抗动脉粥样硬化和/或促动脉粥样硬化作用的分子机制的贡献。
