Elevation of nitric oxide (NO) release from the vascular endothelium may contribute to some of the gender-associated differences in coronary artery function. The mechanisms by which gender affects NO release from the endothelium of coronary arteries are not known. In this study, endothelial function was examined in pressurized coronary arteries from female and male rats. Diameter and endothelial cell intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i) in intact arteries, as well as enzymatic activity of endothelial constitutive nitric oxide synthase (ecNOS) in arterial lysates, was measured. Elevation of intravascular pressure to 60 mmHg constricted coronary arteries from female animals less than coronary arteries from male animals (18% and 31% constriction, respectively). The increased arterial diameter of coronary arteries from females was associated with elevated endothelial [Ca²⁺]_i (female 174 nM, male 90 nM; P < 0.001). Elevation of Ca²⁺ activated ecNOS with a similar slope and half-activation constant (~160 nM) for both female and male coronary arteries. However, at [Ca²⁺] > 100 nM, ecNOS activity was significantly higher in coronary arteries from female rats compared with their male equivalents (P < 0.01). Maximal activity for ecNOS at saturating Ca²⁺ (300 nM) was 37% higher in coronary arteries from female animals compared with male animals (P < 0.05). Thus elevated [Ca²⁺]_i in the endothelium of female coronary arteries alone is predicted to increase the production of NO (by nearly 2-fold). This gender difference combined with increased ecNOS activity at a given [Ca²⁺] in females indicates that tonic NO production should be nearly threefold greater in female coronary arteries compared with male coronary arteries. We conclude that, in the regulation of endothelial Ca²⁺ and ecNOS, gender differences contribute significantly to the overall decrease in myogenic tone observed in coronary arteries of females.

coronary disease; nitric oxide; endothelium; calcium; hormones; endothelial constitutive nitric oxide synthase

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