[Chronic administration of estradiol to ovariectomized female Wistar rats causes development of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension].

We have studied the role of female sex hormone estradiol in the development of hypoxic pulmonary arterial hypertension. Previously, it was shown that the development of pulmonary hypertension in Wistar female rats is accompanied by a twofold increase in the estradiol level. Ovariectomy reduces the degree of pulmonary hypertension in these animals. In this work, the effect of various chronic doses of exogenous estradiol (5 and 15 microg/kg per day) on the development of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension in Wistar female rats has been studied. Pulmonary hypertension was induced by exposure to hypobaric hypoxia (10 h a day for 2 weeks) at simulated altitude of 5000 m (O2 concentration reduced to 10%). The administration of estradiol in different doses (5 and 15 microg/kg per day) for 21 day initiated the development of pulmonary hypertension in ovariectomized Wistar female rats.