Testosterone Protects Against Atherosclerosis in Male Mice by Targeting Thymic Epithelial Cells-Brief Report.
Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol
; 38(7): 1519-1527, 2018 07.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29853568
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Androgen deprivation therapy has been associated with increased cardiovascular risk in men. Experimental studies support that testosterone protects against atherosclerosis, but the target cell remains unclear. T cells are important modulators of atherosclerosis, and deficiency of testosterone or its receptor, the AR (androgen receptor), induces a prominent increase in thymus size. Here, we tested the hypothesis that atherosclerosis induced by testosterone deficiency in male mice is T-cell dependent. Further, given the important role of the thymic epithelium for T-cell homeostasis and development, we hypothesized that depletion of the AR in thymic epithelial cells will result in increased atherosclerosis. APPROACH ANDRESULTS:
Prepubertal castration of male atherosclerosis-prone apoE-/- mice increased atherosclerotic lesion area. Depletion of T cells using an anti-CD3 antibody abolished castration-induced atherogenesis, demonstrating a role of T cells. Male mice with depletion of the AR specifically in epithelial cells (E-ARKO [epithelial cell-specific AR knockout] mice) showed increased thymus weight, comparable with that of castrated mice. E-ARKO mice on an apoE-/- background displayed significantly increased atherosclerosis and increased infiltration of T cells in the vascular adventitia, supporting a T-cell-driven mechanism. Consistent with a role of the thymus, E-ARKO apoE-/- males subjected to prepubertal thymectomy showed no atherosclerosis phenotype.CONCLUSIONS:
We show that atherogenesis induced by testosterone/AR deficiency is thymus- and T-cell dependent in male mice and that the thymic epithelial cell is a likely target cell for the antiatherogenic actions of testosterone. These insights may pave the way for new therapeutic strategies for safer endocrine treatment of prostate cancer.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Temas:
Geral
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Aorta
/
Doenças da Aorta
/
Testosterona
/
Timo
/
Linfócitos T
/
Células Epiteliais
/
Aterosclerose
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol
Assunto da revista:
ANGIOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2018
Tipo de documento:
Article