Abstract
Progesterone (P), 17β‐estradiol (E2), and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) affect gallbladder motility. When gallbladders were taken from women and men, women had more estrogen and P receptors than men. Both P and E2 had an inhibitory effect upon gallbladder contractility in men and premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Similar findings have been reported in gallbladder strips from male and female guinea pigs. In the present study, there was no significant difference in the amount of E2‐, P‐, or DHT‐induced relaxation of CCK‐induced tension when the responses in gallbladder strips from male and female guinea pigs were compared. Three metabolites of P were used: 17‐hydroxyprogesterone (17‐P), 20α‐hydroxyprogesterone (20‐P), and 21‐hydroxyprogesterone (21‐P). There was no significant difference in the responses from strips from male and female guinea pigs. In order to determine if the effects of E2 and P were additive, strips from male animals were exposed to either E2 or P and the amount of relaxation recorded. After recovery, the strips were exposed to E2 or P in reverse order to ensure the order of treatment had no effect. Then, the strips were treated with both E2 and P simultaneously and the relaxation recorded. This procedure was repeated with strips from female guinea pigs. The effect of E2 and P was found to be additive; however, the response of the strips from each sex were not significantly different. It is concluded that the sex of the guinea pig has no significant effect on the response to the sex hormones used.
Highlights
Sex differences in normal physiological function have long been recognized
P induced a concentration-dependent relaxation of CCK-induced tension in strips from either male or female guinea pig gallbladder strips (Fig. 1B)
It was suggested that P modulates extracellular Ca2+ entry. This finding was supported by Kline and Karpinski (2013) using strips taken from female guinea pig gallbladders
Summary
Sex differences in normal physiological function have long been recognized. The sex hormones 17b-estradiol (E2), progesterone (P), and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) have been shown to affect the motility of the gallbladder. A decrease in the motility of the gallbladder has been observed during pregnancy. Estrogen receptors have been described in human gallbladder tissue (Singletary et al 1986; Messa et al 1990). The gallbladders used were taken from males, premenopausal females, and postmenopausal women due to gallstones or mild chronic cholecystitis. Ranelletti et al (1991) found that gallbladders taken from women had more estrogen receptors than men. The gallbladders taken from women had more receptors for P than men. The gallbladders taken from women had more receptors for P than men. Svoboda et al (2008) showed that human gallbladder tissues contain enzymes and estrogen receptors a and b which together could regulate estrogen concentrations in human gallbladder
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