Cardiovascular Pharmacology: Open Access

Abstract

Mechanism of Gender-Related Differences in Vascular Function

Hua Chen

Premenopausal women tend to have less metabolic diseases than age-matched men do. Agonist-induced endothelium-dependent constriction was significantly greater in arteries of male animals than that in female ones. Vascular protective effects of the female sex hormone estrogen have been suggested in this gender difference. This review discusses the important role of its downstream gene Phospholipase A2 group 1B (PLA2G1B) signaling in gender-related differences in vascular tone. The postulated mechanism is as follows: together with its “bottleneck” activation of cytosolic PLA2cPLA2, PLA2G1B can act on membrane phospholipids of endothelial cells to release arachidonic acid, thereby resulting in production of prostaglandins. Pharmacological inhibition of PLA2G1B may offer an attractive avenue for clinical intervention of metabolic diseases in men or menopausal women.