Testosterone Increases: Sodium Reabsorption, Blood Pressure, and Renal Pathology in Female Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats on a High Sodium Diet

Abstract EN

Estrogen (E) and testosterone (T) are important in the sexually dimorphic pattern of blood pressure (BP) development.

The goal was to examine the effects of endogenous E and exogenous T in the development of hypertension in female spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) on a high sodium diet.

Female SHR (N=27, 5-week) were divided into four groups: (1) control (n=8), (2) ovariectomized (OVX, n=26), (3) testosterone implants with intact ovaries (T, n=6), and (4) ovariectomized + testosterone implants (OVX+T, n=7).

T was given immediately after OVX and replaced every two weeks and they were fed a 3% NaCl diet.

BP was measured weekly and plasma norepinephrine (NE) analyzed by HPLC.

OVX+T females exhibited the greatest elevation in BP (190 ± 4.0 mmHg) compared to controls at 15 weeks of age (140 ± 3.4 mmHg, P<.001) and a pattern of hypertension development similar to that of male SHR.

Females with T treatment showed evidence of glomerulosclerosis.

In conclusion, T accelerated the development of hypertension similar to the BP pattern observed in males; the presence of ovaries attenuated the T induced increase in BP; T increased renal sodium reabsorption, and T increased glomerulosclerosis.