Faster rates of post-puberty kidney deterioration in males is correlated with elevated oxidative stress in males vs females at early puberty.
BACKGROUND
Post-puberty deterioration of kidneys is more rapid in males than in females. To reveal the underlying molecular mechanisms for this difference, we analyzed gender-dependent gene expression in kidneys of three groups of 36 day-old rats.


RESULTS
The number of genes exhibiting gender-dependent expression was highly influenced by the genetic background of the rat group examined. 373, 288 and 79 genes showed differential gene expression between males and females (p = 0.001) in US, Mhm and Mhm*BN rats, respectively. Of all gender dependently expressed genes, only 39 genes were differentially expressed in all tested groups and the direction of expression change was the same for those genes for all groups. The gene expression profile suggests higher metabolic and transport activities, enhanced cell proliferation, elevated oxidative stress, and altered vascular biology in males. Furthermore, elevated levels of superoxide anion (two- to three-fold) in males compared to females were detected at early puberty, but neither at pre-puberty nor at late puberty/early adulthood.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that early puberty, with gender-related elevation in oxidative stress in males, is a key compromising factor on kidneys in males.
Li
Li
L
Medical Research Center, University of Heidelberg, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer, Mannheim, Germany. li.li@gmx.de
Boehn
Susanne N
SN
Yu
Xiaolei
X
Zhang
Qingqin
Q
Kenzelmann
Marc
M
Techel
Dieter
D
Mohamed
Salah A
SA
Jakob
Petra
P
Kraenzlin
Bettina
B
Hoffmann
Sigrid
S
Gretz
Norbert
N
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011627:Puberty / Q000235:genetics*; D011629:Puberty, Precocious / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D012737:Sex Factors; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000235:genetics
D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; C499089:Sod3 protein, rat; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase