Abstract
Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) experience hyperandrogenemia, elevated MAP, irregular menses, and difficulty becoming pregnant. As a result many PCOS women undergo assisted fertilization. The long-term cardiovascular consequences of pregnancy in PCOS women are not clear. We tested the hypothesis that a single pregnancy attenuates cardio-renal parameters in hyperandrogenemic female rats, a model of PCOS. Female SD rats were implanted with Dihydrotestosterone (DHT, 7.5mg/90d; replaced every 85 d) or placebo pellets, beginning at 6 wks of age. At 3 months females were paired with SD males. After delivery and lactation, females were divided into placebo (PL) or DHT rats with (P) or without pregnancy (NP) and allowed to age to 10 mos (still estrous cycling) or 16 mos (post cycling) (n=5-8/grp). At 10 mos, body weight (BW), proteinuria (UPrV), and MAP were higher in DHT than PL rats, and pregnancy history had little effect. At 16 mos, BW was higher in DHT than PL rats, and was similar in NP and P groups. UPrV and MAP were also higher in DHT groups than PL, but were significantly attenuated in DHT-P vs DHT-NP. These data suggest that pregnancy in women with PCOS may be cardiovascular protective with aging. The mechanisms remain to be determined. a, p<0.05 vs PL-NP; b, p<0.05 vs PL-P; c, p<0.05 vs DHT-NP, mean ± SEM, two-way ANOVA. Supported by NIH-R01HL66072, PO1HL51971 (JFR).
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