Aromatase transgenic upregulation modulates basal cardiac performance and the response to ischemic stress in male mice

Abstract

Estrogen in females is conventionally considered a cardioprotective influence, but a role for estrogen in male cardioprotection has yet to be defined. Estrogen biosynthesis from testosterone is regulated by aromatase. Aromatase has recently been shown to be expressed in the adult heart, although little is known about its involvement in the regulation of myocardial function and stress responses. The goal of this study was to determine whether upregulation of tissue aromatase expression could improve ischemic resilience in male hearts. Isolated hearts from male transgenic aromatase-overexpressing (AROM+; high estrogen, low testosterone) mice and wild-type (WT) mice (12 wk) were Langendorff per..