Study Links Estrogen Deficiency to Diastolic Heart Dysfunction in Female Mice
Researchers found that estrogen deficiency in female mice with hypertension and pressure overload significantly worsened diastolic dysfunction—a condition affecting heart relaxation while preserving pumping strength. The study used ovariectomy to simulate menopause and tested how estrogen and related compounds affected cardiac function and energy metabolism. The findings suggest estrogen plays a protective role in diastolic function and may help explain why postmenopausal women have higher rates of a specific type of heart failure.
A preprint study published on bioRxiv examined how estrogen deficiency contributes to diastolic dysfunction in female mice, a condition that mirrors heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)—common in postmenopausal women. Researchers induced hypertension and cardiac pressure overload in female mice, then performed ovariectomy on half the animals to simulate menopause and estrogen loss. Over 21 days, the estrogen-deficient mice showed worsening diastolic dysfunction alongside mitochondrial dysfunction, altered energy metabolism, increased oxidative stress, and increased cardiac fibrosis. Treatment with estrogen or a G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor agonist reversed these changes, while other estrogen receptor agonists did not. The findings suggest estrogen regulates diastolic function through specific receptor pathways and raise questions about whether similar mechanisms operate in postmenopausal women.
Limitations & open questions
The study's own limitations and open questions include: whether findings in this mouse model translate to human postmenopausal women; the specific mechanisms by which estrogen regulates mitochondrial function in cardiomyocytes; whether hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women would produce similar protective effects; and whether other factors beyond estrogen deficiency contribute to the high prevalence of HFpEF in this population.
What different sources said
- bioRxivCenter
Estrogen-Deficiency Degrades Left Ventricular Diastolic Function and Energy Metabolism in Hypertensive Female Mice
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