Estrogen Inhibits Cardiac Hypertrophy: Role of Estrogen Receptor-β to Inhibit Calcineurin

Abstract

Estrogen has been reported to prevent development of cardiac hypertrophy in female rodent models and in humans. However, the mechanisms of sex steroid action are incompletely understood. We determined the cellular effects by which 17β-estradiol (E2) inhibits angiotensin II (AngII)-induced cardiac hypertrophy in vivo. Two weeks of angiotensin infusion in female mice resulted in marked hypertrophy of the left ventricle, exacerbated by the loss of ovarian steroid hormones from oophorectomy. Hypertrophy was 51% reversed by the administration of E2 (insertion of 0.1 mg/21-d-release tablets). The effects of E2 were mainly mediated by the estrogen receptor (ER) β-isoform, because E2 had little effect in ERβ-null mice but comparably inhibited AngII-induced hypertrophy in wild-type or ERα-null mice. AngII induced a switch of myosin heavy chain production from α to β, but this was inhibited by E2 via ERβ. AngII-induced ERK activation was also inhibited by E2 through the β-receptor. E2 stimulated brain natriuretic peptide protein expression and substantially prevented ventricular interstitial cardiac fibrosis (collagen deposition) as induced by AngII. Importantly, E2 inhibited calcineurin activity that was stimulated by AngII, related to E2 stimulating the modulatory calcineurin-interacting protein (MCIP) 1 gene and protein expression. E2 acting mainly through ERβ mitigates the important signaling by AngII that produces cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in female mice.