Effects of androgen on vascular and inflammatory biomarkers in a female hypertensive population

摘要

Background: Androgen is a steroid hormone associated with high blood pressure (BP). The effect of androgen on BP in females is unknown. Methods: Androgen, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin (IL)-6 and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 were evaluated in females with menstruation disorders (n = 135, 28 ±5 years old) and normal BP, pre-hypertension, stage 1 hypertension, and stage 2 hypertension.Results: Normal-BP (n = 57), pre-hypertension (n = 44), stage-1-hypertension (n = 21), and stage- 2-hypertension (n = 13) females had similar androgen (3.3 ±1.5, 2.7 ±1.2, 3.1 ±1.4, and 3.5±1.3ng/ml, p>0.05) and IL-6 levels (1.7 ±2.2, 1.9 ±2.6, 1.3 ±1.2 and 2.4 ± 3.3 pg/ml, p>0.05). However, normal BP females had lower MMP-9 (609 ±307 versus 891 ±385ng/ml, p<0.05) than stage-1-hypertension females. In addition, normal BP females had lower VEGF (166 ±103 versus 255 ±139, 272 ±128 and 301 ±216 pg/ml, p<0.05) than the other three groups. In normal-androgen females, VEGF levels were similar among the four groups. However, in high-androgen females, normal BP groups had lower VEGF levels than pre-hypertension, stage-1, and stage-2 hypertension groups (166 ±94 versus 294 ±153, 281 ±160 and 357 ± 253 p< 0705). Conclusions: Androgen can modulate growth factors and extracellular matrix proteins, which may contribute to the pathophysiology of hypertension in young females.