Chronic 17β-estradiol augments relaxant role of basal nitric oxide in blood vessels from rats with heart failure

The effects of chronic 17β-estradiol on endothelium-dependent relaxation to acetylcholine (ACh) and contraction to N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), and endothelium-independent relaxation to sodium nitroprusside (SNP) were examined on blood vessels from rats with chronic heart failure (CHF). Two groups of ovariectomized female (50-60 days) rats were implanted with pellets containing 17β-estradiol (25 μg/day) or vehicle, and given ligation of the left main coronary artery 1 week later. Another group of ovariectomized rats was implanted with vehicle pellets, and sham-operated. After 7 weeks, thoracic aortic rings, pulmonary artery rings, and portal vein strips were prepared for in vitro studies. Relative to sham- operated rats treated with the vehicle, vessels from vehicle-treated, coronary-ligated rats had similar relaxation to ACh and SNP but reduced response to L-NAME that was significant (P