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Cardiovascular protection in females linked to estrogen-dependent inhibition of arterial stiffening and macrophage MMP12
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Cardiovascular protection in females linked to estrogen-dependent inhibition of arterial stiffening and macrophage MMP12

Shu-lin Liu, Anamika Bajpai, Elizabeth A. Hawthorne, Yongho Bae, Paola Castagnino, James Monslow, Ellen Pure, Kara L. Spiller and Richard K. Assoian
JCI insight, v 4(1)
10 Jan 2019
PMID: 30626744
url
https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.122742View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)Open Access (License Unspecified) Open

Abstract

Life Sciences & Biomedicine Medicine, Research & Experimental Research & Experimental Medicine Science & Technology
Arterial stiffening is a consequence of aging and a cholesterol-independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Arterial stiffening and CVD show a sex bias, with men more susceptible than premenopausal women. How arterial stiffness and sex interact at a molecular level to confer risk of CVD is not well understood. Here, we used the sexual dimorphism in LDLR-null mice to show that the protective effect of female sex on atherosclerosis is linked to reduced aortic stiffness and reduced expression of matrix metalloproteinase-12 (MMP12) by lesional macrophages. Deletion of MMP12 in LDLR-null mice attenuated the male sex bias for both arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis, and these effects occurred despite high serum cholesterol. Mechanistically, we found that oxidized LDL stimulates secretion of MMP12 in human as well as mouse macrophages. Estrogen antagonizes this effect by downregulating MMP12 expression. Our data support cholesterol-independent causal relationships between estrogen, oxidized LDL-induced secretion of macrophage MMP12, and arterial stiffness that protect against atherosclerosis in females and emphasize that reduced MMP12 functionality can confer atheroprotection to males.

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45 citations in Scopus

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Medicine, Research & Experimental
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