title: Estrogen receptor-alpha thymidine and adenine repeat polymorphism and endothelial fibrinolytic regulation in postmenopausal women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We hypothesized that the capacity of the endothelium to release tissue-type plasminogen activator is blunted in postmenopausal women with long (TA)(n) repeat alleles (> or = 18 repeats).
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-two healthy postmenopausal women were studied: 10 women with short allele genotypes (both alleles, <18 repeats; age, 59 +/- 2 years), 8 women with long allele genotypes (both alleles, > or = 18 repeats; age, 59 +/- 3 years), and 24 women with mixed allele genotypes (1 short and 1 long allele; age, 56 +/- 1 years). Net endothelial tissue-type plasminogen activator release was determined in response to intra-arterial bradykinin and sodium nitroprusside.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Tissue-type plasminogen activator release in response to bradykinin was highest in homozygotes for the short allele. The total amount of tissue-type plasminogen activator antigen that was released was significantly higher (>55%) in the short (452 +/- 68 ng/100 mL tissue) compared with the mixed (248 +/- 27 ng/100 mL tissue) and long allele (290 +/- 53 ng/100 mL tissue) groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results demonstrate that the long (TA)n dinucleotide repeat allele is associated with blunted endothelial tissue-type plasminogen activator release in healthy postmenopausal women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Physiology, Integrative Vascular Biology Laboratory, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA. greta.hoetzer@colorado.edu
authors.forename: Greta L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Hoetzer
authors.forename: Heather M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Irmiger
authors.forename: Brian L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Stauffer
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: DeSouza
mesh_terms: D000225:Adenine / Q000502:physiology; D018900:Dinucleotide Repeats / Q000502:physiology*; D004727:Endothelium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005342:Fibrinolysis / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D013936:Thymidine / Q000235:genetics; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator; D000225:Adenine; D013936:Thymidine