Abstract
Summary
The postmenopausal state appears to be associated with an increased incidence of atherosclerotic vascular disease in women. Connective tissue and cellular changes in the female rat thoracic aorta were studied in oophorectomized mature rats with and without estrogen replacement. In one study, no attempt was made to control the increased growth of the oophorectomized female. However, because of the possible contribution of different growth rates to results, in another study, weights of the treated and nontreated groups were balanced by pair-feeding. Both studies showed the same qualitative results. Total DNA contents of anatomically-defined thoracic aortic segments were not affected by oophorectomy or by estrogen replacement. Significant and similar increments in total aortic elastin and collagen were seen in untreated oophorectomized groups compared to estrogen-treated ones; a significant increase in percentage of collagen was found. Accelerated accumulation of connective tissue in the rat aortic wall is associated with reduction of endogenous estrogen levels and is unrelated to changes in body weight; estrogen replacement prevents these changes.
The author is grateful to Mrs. Lisa Kasak and Mr. Richard D'Eletto for their assistance with the biochemical determinations and balance experiments. Mrs. Fay Ricksy helped in preparation of the manuscript.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.