Abstract
Sex differences in the HSP response of muscle to various stresses have been reported, but few data on the role of sex hormones on the expression of HSPs exist. Here, young male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were gonadectomized, allowed to recover for 14d and sacrificed after 2 or 12d of hormone administration (testosterone and estradiol for males and females, respectively). A third group (sham) received vehicle only, and was sacrificed after 2 days. Vastus lateralis samples were processed for SDS-PAGE, and immunoblotted for expression of HSP25 & αB Crystallin as well as for the inducible and constitutive isoforms of the 70 kD HSP(HSP70 & HSC70, respectively). Myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition was determined using SDS-PAGE. Differences in HSPs and MHC percentages relative to non-operated controls were determined for males and females (n=5/group). Sham males exhibited a 60% reduction in HSP70, which was reversed by testosterone. In contrast, sham females showed a slight increase in HSP70 (20%), while those receiving estradiol for 2 & 12d showed marked increases (~3-fold) relative to control. HSC70 showed similar, but smaller, patterns of change, and the small HSPs showed no changes in HSPs in any condition for either sex. MHC composition did not differ across groups. Sex hormones appear to modulate resting HSP expression differently in males and females and may reflect sex differences in muscle physiology.
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