Effects of Cross-Sex Hormone Therapy on Metabolic Parameters and Aortic Relaxation in Castrated Male Rats

Abstract

With the rising awareness, the number of individuals identifying themselves as transgender in the US is increasing over the years. Cross-sex hormone therapy (CSHT) may alter numerous cardiometabolic parameters leading to the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in transgender population. Epidemiological studies suggest that transgender females (male to female, MtF) on estrogen therapy develop higher risk of CVD compared to transgender males (female to male, FtM) taking testosterone. Underlying mechanisms of impaired cardiovascular functions in MtF are not well documented. This study was undertaken to examine the effects of 17β-estradiol (E2) on certain cardiometabolic parameters and aortic reactivity in castrated (CAS) male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. The 8-10-weeks old CAS rats were subcutaneously implanted with either 1.5 mg of E2 (CAS+E2) or placebo (CAS+PL) containing pellets for ~35 days. The age-matched SD intact male (IM) rats were also included in the experimental groups. After performing the glucose tolerance test, animals were sacrificed, and the blood was collected for later measurements of the HbA1C and triglyceride (TG) levels. Endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation (EDV) to acetylcholine (ACh) in aortic rings pre-contracted with phenylephrine (PE) was measured before and after treatment with indomethacin (a cyclooxygenase inhibitor), followed by L-NAME [a nonselective nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS) inhibitor]. Contractile responses to PE before and after L-NAME in aortic rings and sodium nitroprusside (SNP)-induced relaxation responses in endothelium-denuded rings were also measured. Here, we report the decreased body weight and visceral white adipose tissue, and improved HbA1C and glucose tolerance in E2-treated CAS rats. However, the E2-treated CAS rats exhibited elevated plasma level of TG. Furthermore, the vascular relaxation to ACh was significantly impaired in aortas from this group compared to those in CAS+PL and IM rats. The impairment of ACh responses in CAS+E2 rats was accompanied by a significant decrease in NO contribution to ACh vasorelaxation. The basal NO levels and the smooth muscle sensitivity to NO were not altered, whereas the maximum contractile responses to PE were enhanced in aortas of CAS+E2 group compared to IM. In conclusion, our data suggests that the glucose homeostasis was improved in CAS+E2 rats. Regardless, this group exhibited increased level of TG in plasma and decreased aortic vasorelaxation to ACh. The impairment of EDV in E2-treated CAS rats might be due to reduced NO-mediated vasorelaxation or increased contractile responses observed in this group. Additional studies are needed to document the underlying mechanisms for improvement of glucose homeostasis and impairment of EDV in CAS+E2 rats. NIDA/NIGMS, 1SC1DA052120-01 to MF and Bridge Grant from University of the Pacific to RR. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.