Sex differences in middle cerebral artery reactivity and hemodynamics in 6-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats independent from systemic arterial stiffness or blood pressure
Authors: Ray Jonathan , Pulgar Victor , Sun Xuming , Yamaleyeva Liliya 
Published: May 2023

Cerebrovascular disease (CVD) is a major risk factor for developing cognitive impairment. Young women are protected against CVD compared with older women or men, however the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Greater peripheral arterial stiffness has been linked to increased cerebral flow pulsatility and cognitive impairment. In this study we determined whether sex differences in middle cerebral artery (MCA) reactivity are associated with changes in cerebral [MCA, intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA)] or systemic [common carotid artery (CCA), thoracic aorta (TAo)] arterial resistance and stiffness in six month-old Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. No differences in systolic or diastolic blood pressures measured by tail-cuff method were observed between sexes. Heart rate was higher in the female versus male SD (438±9 vs. 343±10 bpm, p<0.05, n=8-12). The pulsatility (PI) and resistance indexes (RI) of left MCA and left intracranial ICA were calculated as follows: PI=(Peak systolic velocity (Vs)-End-diastolic velocity (Vd))/Vmean, or RI=(Vs-Vd)/Vs (Vevo LAZR, FUJIFILM VisualSonics). Left MCA PI and RI indexes were lower in the female versus male SD (PI: 0.75±0.09 vs. 1.17±0.11; RI: 0.49±0.04 vs. 0.63±0.03, all p<0.05; n=7-8), while no differences in left ICA blood flow (n=4-9) or resistance (n=7-10) were observed between sexes. There were no differences in arterial stiffness of TAo or left CCA evaluated by pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurements. To investigate vascular reactivity, left MCA segments were isolated and mounted on a wire Multi Myograph (DMT-USA). Data were acquired and analyzed with Powerlab 8 and LabChart v8 (ADInstruments). Female left MCA had lower contraction to potassium (K+: 0.6±0.1 vs. 1±0.2 mN/mm, p<0.05), but similar maximal contraction (109±10 vs. 116±6 %KMAX, p>0.05) and sensitivity (7.3±0.2 vs. 7.2±0.2, p>0.05) to thromboxane A2 receptor agonist U46619. Pre-incubation with indomethacin lowered maximal response (97±5 vs. 116±6 %KMAX, p<0.05) and sensitivity (6.8±0.1 vs. 7.2±0.2, p<0.05) to U46619 in male MCA, with no effect in female MCA (Male: 109±9 vs. 113±7 %KMAX; Female: 7.3±0.2 vs. 7.3±0.2). MCA collagen deposition (by trichrome staining) was similar between sexes, however eNOS immunoreactivity tended to increase in the female versus male MCA (7.3±2 vs. 1.2±0.6; n=3-4, p=0.07). No sex differences in MCA COX-2 expression were found. In summary, lower PI and RI of MCA in 6-month-old females suggests decreased cerebrovascular resistance compared with age-matched male SD. Increased eNOS expression may contribute to the lower contraction observed in female MCA, whereas vasoconstrictor prostaglandins appear to have a greater role in male versus female MCA. Our results demonstrate sex differences in MCA vascular reactivity associated with a protective functional profile of MCA in 6-month-old female versus male SD rats independent from changes in systemic arterial stiffness or blood pressure. Studies were supported by the WFUSM CVSC Pilot Award and NIH 5R01HL155420. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.