Sex hormones and vascular reactivity: a temporal evaluation in resistance arteries of male rats.

The role of androgens in vascular reactivity is controversial, particularly regarding their age-related actions. The objective of this study was to c onduct a temporal evaluation of the vascular reactivity of resistance arteries of young male rats, as well as to understand how male sex hormones can influence the vascula r function of these animals. Endothelium-mediated relaxation was characterized in third-order mesenteric arteries of 10-, 12-, 16-, and 18w (week-old) male rats. Concen tration--response curves to acetylcholine (ACh, 0.1 nmol/L--10 μmol/L) were constructed in arteries previously contracted with phenylephrine (PE, 3 μmol/L), before and after the use of nitric oxide synthase or cyclooxygenase inhibitors. PE concentration--response curves (1 nmol/L--100 μmol/L) were also built. The levels of vascular nitric oxide, su peroxide anion, and hydrogen peroxide were assessed and histomorphometry analysis was performed. The 18w group had impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation. All groups showed prostanoid-independent and nitric oxide-dependent vasodilatory response, although this dependence seems to be smaller in the 18w group. The 18w group had the lowest nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide production, in addition to the highest superoxide anion levels. Besides functional impairment, 18w animals showed morphological differences in third-order mesenteric arteries compared with the other groups. Our data show that time-dependent exposure to male sex hormones appears to play an important role in the development of vascular changes that can lead to impaired v ascular reactivity in mesenteric arteries, which could be related to the onset of age -related cardiovascular changes in males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]