title: Blunted blood pressure response and elevated plasma adiponectin levels in female Sprague Dawley rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Premenopausal women have lower blood pressure (BP) levels than men of similar age. Adiponectin has been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of hypertension. The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of various stress stimuli on BP and plasma adiponectin levels in male and female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  In three experimental models of hypertension, fructose-enriched diet, high salt diet, or L-NAME, were administered for up to 4 weeks. BP, metabolic parameters, and plasma adiponectin were measured at baseline and during the studies. The fructose diet protocol was repeated in female rats for 2 weeks with the addition of testosterone injections or vehicle.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Females, in contrast to males, did not develop fructose-induced hypertension. Total plasma triglycerides (TGs) were half in females at baseline (P < 0.001) and a third at 4 weeks (P < 0.05). Plasma insulin levels were 23% lower in females than in males at baseline (P < 0.05) and 42% lower after 4 weeks of fructose-enriched diet (P = 0.001). Plasma adiponectin levels were 65% higher in females than in males at baseline (P = 0.001) and 45% higher after 4 weeks of fructose-enriched diet (P < 0.05). Furthermore, female rats showed blunted BP response and elevated plasma adiponectin in the salt-induced and L-NAME-induced hypertension models. Testosterone injection to female rats reduced plasma adiponectin and reversed the blunted BP response.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Elevated plasma adiponectin levels, perhaps due to lack of suppression by testosterone, are associated with a blunting of BP response in female compared to male SD rats.
authors.affiliation: Hypertension Unit, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel. sofue@med.kagawa-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yehuda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kamari
authors.forename: Edna
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Peleg
authors.forename: Avshalom
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leibowitz
authors.forename: Ehud
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grossman
mesh_terms: D052242:Adiponectin / Q000097:blood*; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D005632:Fructose / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D013739:Testosterone / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D052242:Adiponectin; D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary; D005632:Fructose; D013739:Testosterone; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester