title: Sex differences on solid organ histological characteristics after brain death1.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate gender differences in the evolution of the inflammatory process in rats subjected to brain death (BD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult Wistar rats were divided into three groups: female; ovariectomized female; and male rats. BD was induced using intracranial balloon inflation and confirmed by maximal pupil dilatation, apnea, absence of reflex, and drop of mean arterial pressure. Six hours after BD, histological evaluation was performed in lungs, heart, liver and kidneys, and levels of inflammatory proteins, estrogen, progesterone, and corticosterone were determined in plasma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the lungs, females presented more leukocyte infiltration compared to males (p<0.01). Ovariectomized female rat lungs were more hemorrhagic compared to other groups (p<0.001). In the heart, females had higher leukocyte infiltration and tissue edema compared to males (p<0.05). In the liver and kidneys, there were no differences among groups. In female group estradiol and progesterone were sharply reduced 6 hours after BD (p<0.001) to values observed in ovariectomized females and males. Corticosterone levels were similar.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sex hormones influence the development of inflammation and the status of organs. The increased inflammation in lungs and heart of female rats might be associated with the acute reduction in female hormones triggered by BD.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Raif Restivo
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Simão
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, USP, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sueli Gomes
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, USP, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Guilherme Konishi
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Kudo
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, USP, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Armstrong Junior
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, USP, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiz Fernando Ferraz da
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, USP, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paulina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sannomiya
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, USP, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Cristina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Breithaupt-Faloppa
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, USP, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiz Felipe Pinho
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Moreira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001926:Brain Death / Q000473:pathology*; D054360:Chemokine CXCL1 / Q000032:analysis; D054426:Chemokine CXCL2 / Q000032:analysis; D004487:Edema / Q000473:pathology; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D007249:Inflammation / Q000473:pathology; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology*; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology*; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010052:Ovariectomy; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012016:Reference Values; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D054360:Chemokine CXCL1; D054426:Chemokine CXCL2; C513297:Cxcl1 protein, rat; C513296:Cxcl2 protein, rat; D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol