title: Sexual dimorphism: the aging kidney, involvement of nitric oxide deficiency, and angiotensin II overactivity.
abstract: Females develop less age-dependent loss of renal function, which may be in part due to cardiorenal protective effects of estrogens. The impact of androgen level on cardiovascular-renal health is controversial. Estrogen acts through multiple mechanisms, sometimes beneficial, sometimes damaging, which makes it difficult to predict the effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in an aging population. Nitric oxide (NO) deficiency occurs in aging and contributes to age-dependent cardiovascular risk and kidney damage. The increased oxidative stress of aging has effects at multiple sites in the NO biosynthetic pathway to lower NO production/action. Loss of NO together with activated angiotensin promotes some of the decrements in cardiovascular-renal function seen with age, which may be related to actions of the sex steroids.
authors.affiliation: 1600 SW Archer Rd, Room M544, Department of Physiology and Functional Genomics, University of Florida, POB 100274, Gainesville FL 32667, USA. baylisc@ufl.edu
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baylis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000728:Androgens / Q000502:physiology; D000804:Angiotensin II / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005919:Glomerular Filtration Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007678:Kidney Glomerulus / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000172:deficiency*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics
chemical_list: D000728:Androgens; D000804:Angiotensin II; D009569:Nitric Oxide