In the NO, ischaemia, and brain inflammation article, the authors mention that the volume of infarction was found to be smaller in female mice after ischemic stroke compared to male mice, which was found to be due to estrogen regulation of NOS-2 expression. I was intrigued by the fact that these two compounds are interactive. It may have been obvious to some people, but it was not to me. So I looked it up. And I found lots of interesting articles, some of which I listed at the bottom of this post. It is fascinating to make connections between seemingly distant processes, but I that is the beauty of physiology (and pathophysiology), and especially immunology. In the diagram (has link to a website) you can see so many different players: NOS, estrogen, OPG (soluble RANKL) are all involved in osteoclastogenesis as well. So in reality, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and stroke (and gum disease, too from that one article :), etc... are intricately related.
From the Karpuzoglu E paper, it seems that there are still come controversies and gaps in the literature about the influence of estrogen on NO.
In the more recent paper by White et. al, the authors hypothesize that the ratio between NO and superoxide (a ROS) is what is important. So basically maintaining a "concentration" of the beneficial NOS species, which can be regulated by estrogen apparently, (from the Murphy paper we read in class) is pertinent.
Steroids. 2010 Nov;75(11):788-93. Epub 2010 Jan 7.
Estrogen and oxidative stress: A novel mechanism that may increase the risk for cardiovascular disease in women.
White RE, Gerrity R, Barman SA, Han G.
Nitric Oxide. 2006 Nov;15(3):177-86. Epub 2006 May 2.
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