© 1995 American Heart Association, Inc.
Articles |
Regression of Atherosclerosis in Female Monkeys
From the Comparative Medicine Clinical Research Center and Departments of Comparative Medicine (J.K.W., M.S.A., E.K.H., T.C.R., T.B.C.) and Public Health Sciences (T.M.M.), and the Division of Cardiology (D.M.H.), Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC.
Correspondence to J. Koudy Williams, DVM, Department of Comparative Medicine, Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1040.
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Abstract |
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Abstract The objective of this study was to determine the structural and functional changes that occur in the artery wall in response to plasma lipid lowering and hormone replacement in surgically postmenopausal monkeys with established coronary artery atherosclerosis. Eighty-eight surgically postmenopausal cynomolgus monkeys were fed an atherogenic diet for 24 months and were then allocated into 4 groups: group 1 (n=20), a baseline necropsy group; group 2 (n=25), a lipid-lowering diet only; group 3 (n=22), lipid lowering plus conjugated equine estrogen treatment equivalent to 0.625 mg/d for a woman; and group 4 (n=21), lipid lowering plus conjugated equine estrogen and medroxyprogesterone acetate treatment (equivalent to 2.5 mg/d for a woman). Treatment was for 30 months. Histomorphometric analysis of perfusion-fixed coronary arteries revealed that plaque size did not change significantly in any of the groups compared with group 1 (P>.20). Plasma lipid lowering permitted coronary artery remodeling to occur (coronary artery and lumen size doubled compared with group 1) (P<.05); however, hormone therapy did not augment remodeling. Quantitative angiographic analysis of coronary artery reactivity revealed that lipid lowering improved dilator responses to acetylcholine by 22±4% (P=.01) but not to nitroglycerin (P=.23). Hormone replacement did not further affect vascular reactivity to the agonists tested (P>.4), but addition of medroxyprogesterone acetate diminished the beneficial effects of conjugated estrogens on coronary flow reserve (P=.03). In summary, the major arterial sequelae of lipid lowering in female monkeys were artery and lumen enlargement and improved reactivity of large epicardial coronary arteries. Addition of hormone replacement to the dietary modification did not further augment these improvements, except for the dilator capacity of the coronary microcirculation.
Key Words: atherosclerosis • estrogen • females • progestin • regression
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Introduction |
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The new National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines emphasize dietary and pharmacological interventions for lowering LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations in patients with established coronary heart disease (CHD).1 The guidelines also endorse the use of estrogen replacement therapy as an alternative or supplement to conventional lipid-lowering interventions to reduce the risk of CHD in postmenopausal women.
One of the primary goals of these therapies is to produce regression of atherosclerotic lesions in coronary arteries. Traditionally, regression was used to describe the reduction in lesion size after lipid-lowering therapy. More recently, regression has been used as a term that relates to the structural, chemical, and functional improvements that occur in arteries after treatment.2
Previous studies of regression of diet-induced atherosclerosis in nonhuman primates have focused primarily on male animals and plaque size only.3 4 5 Recently, in studies of male cynomolgus monkeys, we considered not only plaque size but artery/lumen size and coronary artery reactivity.6 In the study reported here, we focused on surgically postmenopausal cynomolgus monkeys with preexisting atherosclerosis and considered not only plaque size but artery/lumen size and function.
Estrogen replacement therapy reduces the risk of CHD among postmenopausal women by as much as 50%.7 8 9 Mechanisms that may be involved include the beneficial effects of estrogen on plasma lipid concentrations,10 inhibition of progression of coronary artery atherosclerosis,11 and improvement of dilator responses of atherosclerotic coronary arteries.12 13 However, it remains unknown whether estrogen replacement, or the practice of adding a progestin to estrogen replacement, modifies the effects of estrogen on the structural, chemical, or functional changes in arteries that may occur during lipid lowering. Therefore, a study was undertaken to define the arterial sequelae of lipid-lowering therapy in surgically postmenopausal monkeys and then determine whether the addition of hormone replacement therapy modulated the effects of lipid lowering on lesion regression.
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Methods |
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Animals
The subjects of this study were 120 feral adult female cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) imported from Indonesia (Charles River Primates). They ranged in age from 5 to 13 years, as estimated from dentition, and were not pregnant. After the second month of a 3-month quarantine, the monkeys began consuming a moderately atherogenic diet containing 43% of calories from fat and 0.44 mg cholesterol per kilocalorie (see Table 1
). The atherogenic diet was fed for 2 years. Animals
were housed in social groups of 4 to 8 monkeys each. Bilateral
ovariectomies were done on all animals at the start of the
atherosclerosis induction period. All monkeys were
housed and treated in accordance with all state and federal regulations
and with the approval of the Institutional Animal Care and Use
Committee.
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At the end of the atherosclerosis induction phase, the
animals were randomized into four groups (Fig 1): a
baseline necropsy group (n=20; group 1), a group fed the plasma
lipid-lowering diet (see Table 1
) (n=28; group 2), a group fed the
plasma lipid-lowering diet plus conjugated equine estrogens (n=28;
group 3), and a group fed the plasma lipid-lowering diet plus
conjugated equine estrogens and medroxyprogesterone
acetate (n=27; group 4). The treatment phase was for 30 months.
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Seventeen animals died during the atherosclerosis induction period, and 15 animals died during the treatment period, all from causes unrelated to the experimental manipulations (mostly from trauma and gastrointestinal disorders). This resulted in 103 animals available for randomization and 88 available for analysis: 20 animals in group 1, 25 in group 2, 22 in group 3, and 21 in group 4.
Allocation of animals to groups was determined by a stratified randomization scheme using as stratification variables (1) the ratio of total plasma cholesterol (TPC) to HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) during the atherogenic diet period, (2) most recent bone density measurement (8 months before onset of treatment), and (3) time since ovariectomy.
For 8 months of the 30-month treatment period, groups 3 and 4 received 7.2 µg of conjugated equine estrogens (Premarin, Wyeth-Ayerst) per monkey per day. For 22 of the 30 months, we increased the dose of conjugated equine estrogens to 166 µg per monkey per day to be equivalent to women receiving 0.625 mg/d. Throughout the 30-month treatment phase, group 4 received 650 µg per monkey per day of medroxyprogesterone acetate (Cycrin, Wyeth-Ayerst) to be equivalent to a woman's dose of 2.5 mg/d. The hormones were administered twice daily in the diet.
An additional 10 adult female monkeys that were not part of this trial population were used to determine normal coronary flow reserve in atherosclerotic, hypercholesterolemic monkeys. All were ovariectomized and had been fed an atherogenic diet (similar to the atherosclerosis trial diet) for at least 2 years. This extra group of atherosclerotic monkeys was needed because the Doppler equipment used for coronary flow experiments was not purchased until after the baseline necropsy group (from the main trial) had been studied.
Plasma Lipids and Lipoproteins
During the atherosclerosis induction phase,
quarterly measurements were made of the animals' plasma lipid and
lipoprotein concentrations (TPC, HDL-C, and triglycerides)
and characteristics (HDL subfractions and LDL-C as determined by
molecular weight). LDL-C concentrations were determined indirectly by
subtracting HDL-C from TPC. Therefore, the term "LDL-C" is used
throughout the manuscript, but actually represents LDL-C plus
VLDL cholesterol. The details of the methods used to
measure these components have been published
previously.14
Apolipoproteins (apo) A-I and A-II15 and lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)]16 were measured periodically according to previously published methods. HDL subclasses were measured once during month 18 of the trial.
Plasma Hormones
All hormone measurements were done at the Comparative
Endocrinology Laboratory of the Yerkes Regional Primate Center of Emory
University (Atlanta, Ga) by Dr Mark Wilson. During the
atherosclerosis induction phase, estradiol and
progesterone concentrations were determined to confirm the completeness
of ovariectomy. During the trial, plasma concentrations of
17ß-estradiol and medroxyprogesterone acetate were determined from
serum obtained 4 hours after the hormone-containing diets were given
(ie, at peak concentration). The measurements were made at regular
intervals during the treatment phase. The assay for 17ß-estradiol was
carried out by a previously published method17 that is a
modification of a commercially available kit (Diagnostic
Products Corp). The assay has a sensitivity of 5 to 7 pg/mL.
Medroxyprogesterone acetate also was measured by radioimmunoassay. Before assay, samples were extracted with diethyl ether, yielding a recovery of 91.2%. The antibody was a rabbit anti-medroxyprogesterone acetate serum (American Biochemicals), and the assay had a minimum detection limit of 14 pg/mL.
Blood Pressure
Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured
at 6-month intervals throughout the trial while monkeys were sedated,
by methods described previously.18 19 Eight to 18 minutes
after sedation, three measurements of systolic and
diastolic pressures were taken with a Dinamap portable
adult/pediatric and neonatal vital signs monitor (model 8100) that uses
the oscillometric technique. The average of the three measurements is
reported.
Vascular Responses of Large Epicardial Coronary Arteries
Vascular responses of large epicardial coronary arteries
were measured just before euthanasia and necropsy. Monkeys were
anesthetized with ketamine hydrochloride (10 to 15 mg/kg body
wt IM) and butorphanol (0.025 mg/kg body wt IM). Supplemental doses of
both agents were given as required to maintain light
anesthesia, and the animals were allowed to breathe
spontaneously. These anesthetics were chosen because they do not
interfere significantly with hemodynamics (blood
pressure and heart rate) and respiration rate. The monkeys were warmed
with a heating pad, and blood gases were maintained within normal
limits throughout the experiment. A catheter was inserted into the
right brachial artery for measurement of blood pressure and heart rate.
A custom-designed 3F (tapered to 1.5F) catheter was inserted into the
right femoral artery and advanced into the left main coronary
artery under fluoroscopic guidance. Blood pressure was monitored from
the tip of the coronary catheter to exclude damping and
significant obstruction of blood flow.
With an infusion pump (Harvard Apparatus), serial
2.5-minute intracoronary infusions were made in the following
sequence: (1) 5% dextrose in water (control); (2) acetylcholine
(10-8, 10-7, and
10-6 mol/L) (estimated final concentration in the
coronary artery, assuming left coronary blood flow of
10 mL/min20 ); (3) another control; and (4)
nitroglycerin (15 µg/min). This dose of
nitroglycerin was chosen because it produces maximal
dilation in arteries.20 A 3F pigtail catheter was then
placed in the left ventricle via the left common carotid artery, and
angiograms were repeated during the control period (
10 minutes after
the catheter was placed) and during
intraventricular infusion of adenosine (5
µm · kg-1 · min-1). Immediately
after each infusion, cineangiographic images were obtained in the 30°
right anterior oblique projection at 60 frames per second. Images
were taken during a hand injection of 2 mL of nonionic contrast
solution (Omnipaque, Squibb) into the left main coronary
artery. This projection was used to provide optimal visualization
of the circumflex coronary artery, which is the largest branch
of the left coronary artery in most cynomolgus monkeys.
Approximately 10 minutes elapsed between drug infusions.
Quantitative Coronary Angiography
Quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) was done in the
Bowman Gray Cardiology Image Analysis
Laboratory. A single frame from baseline and following each infusion
was selected for analysis on the basis of clarity of the image
of the proximal 2 to 3 cm of the circumflex coronary artery.
Criteria for clarity included maximal opacification, no overlapping
structures, and minimal motion artifact. Care was taken to select all
frames from a single monkey from the same time in the cardiac cycle
(end diastole). Each frame was optimally magnified by use
of a cine-video projector (SME-3500, Sony Corp of America) and
digitized to a 480x384x10-bit gray-scale image by use of a frame
grabber (4 meg, Epix Inc) installed in a 486 personal computer. The
mean diameters of the vessel segments of interest were measured by
previously validated QCA methods (QCA Plus, Sanders Data
Systems).21 When possible, specific anatomic landmarks
were used to ensure that the same portion of the vessel was
analyzed after each infusion. Each film was analyzed
identically on two separate occasions by an operator who was unaware of
the initial results. For the purposes of analysis, the average
of the two measurements at baseline and after each infusion were used.
Estimates of the precision of the QCA methods as applied to the monkey
angiograms also were derived from the repeated-measures data.
To determine the accuracy and precision of the QCA methods used at the Comparative Medicine Clinical Research Center, a number of additional analyses were done. Images of a Plexiglas phantom with five precision-drilled holes ranging in diameter from 0.73 to 4.79 mm were obtained under radiographic conditions (kVp and Ma) similar to those used in monkey angiography. The mean (±SD) error was 0.070±0.161 mm, and the mean absolute error was 0.117 mm. The multiple correlation coefficient for the correlation between measured and true values was R2=.99. For the analysis of the monkey angiograms, 176 measurements were made on two separate occasions. The correlation between repeated measures was .98, and the mean difference (±SD) between measures was -0.002±0.028 mm. The mean absolute difference was 0.04 mm, and the coefficient of variation was 2.4%.
Coronary Artery Flow Velocity
Coronary flow velocity measurements were done with a
flexible, steerable Doppler coronary artery flow guide wire
(175 cm long, 0.018 in. in diameter). This wire has a 0.016-in. 12-MHz
piezoelectric transducer mounted on its tip and is coupled to a 12-MHz
pulsed Doppler ultrasound velocimeter (Flowmap,
Cardiometrics, Inc), which consists of a real-time spectral
analysis system with scrolling gray-scale display. The
Doppler system also can compute a variety of on-line spectral
variables, including instantaneous peak velocity and average peak
velocity (APV). All data were recorded on a video recorder and
video page printer. Doppler measurements were done after the
angiography experiment. A catheter was advanced from the right carotid
artery to the left ventricle for infusion of adenosine. The
flow wire was inserted through the coronary artery catheter and
advanced to the middle third of the left circumflex coronary
artery under fluoroscopic guidance. APV was monitored for 10 minutes to
ensure that the Doppler wire was not altering flow in the
coronary artery. Additionally, electrocardiographic output was
monitored in lead II to ensure that the myocardium had not
become ischemic and there were no arrhythmias. After
the baseline APV measurements were obtained, adenosine (5
µg · kg-1 · min-1) was infused into
the left ventricle for a total of 2 minutes, and the measurements were
repeated. Adenosine was infused into the ventricle because it
is metabolized quickly. Flow reserve was calculated as the ratio of the
APV obtained during infusion of adenosine divided by the APV at
baseline.
This system has been validated to measure coronary flow velocity in in vivo animal experiments.22 Detailed specifications of in vivo and in vitro studies examining repetition frequency, burst length beam divergence, pulse duration, and sampling delay have been published previously.22 23 Additionally, correlation studies have been done comparing this Doppler system with electromagnetic flow measurements (r=.9).22 In five untreated monkeys from group 2, repeat measures were made, which determined that APV did not change over the course of the experiment (each experiment lasted for approximately 90 minutes). The correlation between measures was r=.98. Therefore, it is unlikely that time of anesthesia, presence of the Doppler flow wire, length of experiment, or lack of repeatability affected experimental results.
Necropsy Protocol
After the vascular reactivity studies, monkeys in the main trial
were transferred immediately to the necropsy laboratory and
anesthetized to a surgical plane with sodium pentobarbital (a
method consistent with the Report of the Panel on Euthanasia of
the American Veterinary Medical Association). The
cardiovascular system was flushed with normal saline,
followed by perfusion with 10% neutral buffered formalin (NBF) at a
pressure of 100 mm Hg for 1 hour. The heart was removed, and the
coronary arteries were perfused with 10% NBF at a pressure of
100 mm Hg for 1 hour, after which the heart was immersed in 10% NBF.
The aorta was dissected free and immersion-fixed in 10% NBF.
Five serial tissue blocks for histological sectioning were cut perpendicular to the long axis of the left anterior descending, left circumflex, and right coronary arteries. One histological section was made from each block and stained with Verhoeff–van Gieson's stain. These sections were projected, and the cross-sectional areas of intimal lesion (fatty streak and/or plaque) and areas within the internal elastic lamina (IEL) were measured with a digitizer. Atherosclerosis extent was expressed as the cross-sectional area of lesion in square millimeters. Artery size was expressed as the area within the IEL, and lumen area was determined by subtracting the intimal area from the area within the IEL. We examined treatment effects on plaque areas measured at necropsy by tissue block (section) of each coronary artery using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with tissue block as the repeated factor. There were no significant differential effects of treatment by artery block (P=.41). In the remainder of the analyses, we used the mean plaque areas of all 15 blocks of the three coronary arteries.
Aortic Cholesterol Measurements
At necropsy, the abdominal aorta was carefully cleaned of
adventitial tissue, opened longitudinally along the posterior surface,
and sectioned into segments for determination of chemical composition.
The segments were approximately 1 cm2 and weighed
approximately 60 mg. Wet weights were obtained from tissue that was
blotted to remove surface liquid. The wet tissues were delipidated with
20 volumes (vol/wt) chloroform:methanol (3:1 vol/vol). Tissue
cholesterol content was determined by the method of Rudel
and Morris.24
Statistical Analysis
Reported values are mean±SEM. Variables not meeting
homogeneity of variance estimates by Levene's test were subjected to
logarithmic transformation. Comparisons of baseline levels of measures
among the treatment groups were done by ANOVA. Tests for changes in
plasma lipid concentrations over time were done by repeated-measures
ANOVA. Comparisons among treatment groups of plasma lipid
concentrations and intimal area were done by repeated-measures
analysis of covariance using baseline prerandomization
concentrations of HDL-C and triglycerides and LDL molecular
weight as the covariates. Post hoc analysis of data was done by
multiple comparison tests with Bonferroni-adjusted significance levels.
Statistical significance was set at 95%. The coronary flow
reserve values obtained from the extra group of 10 monkeys were not
compared statistically with those from the main trial because the extra
monkeys were not part of the original study design (ie, were not
randomized at the same time). Coronary flow reserve values from
the extra 10 monkeys were used for reference purposes only to give
additional information about coronary flow reserve in
atherosclerotic ovariectomized cynomolgus monkeys.
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Results |
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Plasma Hormones, Body Weight, and Blood Pressure
Plasma estradiol and medroxyprogesterone concentrations were at the bottom of the detectable range of the assays (5.0 and 25 pg/mL, respectively) in monkeys after ovariectomy and in monkeys not receiving hormone replacement therapy. Monkeys treated with conjugated equine estrogens (groups 3 and 4) had mean plasma concentrations of 167.1±10 and 160.9±14 pg/mL, respectively. Mean plasma concentrations of medroxyprogesterone acetate were 116±5 pg/mL in group 4 monkeys. Body weights were similar among treatment groups before treatment (range, 3.27 to 3.36 kg). During treatment, group 3 monkeys (conjugated equine estrogens only) had significantly lower mean body weights than groups 2 and 4, after adjustment for pretreatment body weights (group 2, 3.99 kg; group 3, 3.59 kg; group 4, 4.20 kg). Systolic blood pressures were generally about 100 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressures about 55 mm Hg in all groups, and they remained within this range throughout the treatment period.
Plasma Lipid and Lipoprotein Concentrations
Plasma lipid concentrations are summarized in Table 2. There were no significant differences in TPC
concentrations among the treatment groups at the initiation of the
treatment phase, nor were there group differences during the treatment
phase.
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The HDL-C concentrations of the groups during the
atherosclerosis progression phase were similar. During
the treatment phase, there were significant differences among groups
during months 14 through 25 of the trial (adjusted mean concentrations
of 1.89, 1.06, and 1.45 mmol/L for groups 2 through 4, respectively)
(P<.0001; Table 2).
The two hormone treatment groups (groups 3 and 4) showed a major effect of treatment on HDL subclasses. The main change was a reduction in HDL2b concentrations (group 2, 36% of total HDL; groups 3 and 4, 14%; P<.0001). The reductions in HDL2b in the hormone treatment groups were offset primarily by increases in HDL3a and HDL3b subclasses (3a, 7.5% of total HDL in group 2, 13.7% in group 3, and 21% in group 4, P=.002; 3b, 6.7% of total HDL in group 2, 18.0% in group 3, and 17.3% in group 4, P<.0001).
The ratios of TPC to HDL-C were similar among the three groups
during the atherosclerosis progression phase, all being
about 24. During the treatment phase, there were marked reductions in
the ratios of all groups as well as significant differences between
groups (P<.0001; Table 2).
Significant differences in plasma triglyceride concentrations were seen among the groups during months 14 through 25 of the trial, with concentrations being highest in the conjugated equine estrogen group (group 3) (P<.0001).
The treatment effects on plasma apo A-I concentrations closely
paralleled the changes observed in HDL-C (Table 3). The two hormone-treated groups had lower
plasma apo A-I concentrations than the diet-only group (group 2), and
the conjugated equine estrogen group (group 3) was lower than the
combined treatment group (group 4). There were no significant
treatment effects on plasma concentrations of apo A-II (Table 3). In
addition, Lp(a) concentrations were not different between treatment
groups (Table 3).
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LDL molecular weights during the progression and treatment phases also
are shown in Table 3. LDL molecular weight was not one of our
randomization variables. Due to chance, there were significant
differences among the groups before the treatment phase
(P=.004). After adjustment for the pretreatment values,
groups 3 and 4 had significantly lower LDL molecular weights than group
2 (P=.002). However, there was no significant difference
between groups 3 and 4 (P=.15).
Plaque Size
Because LDL molecular weights were different between groups before
treatment and because that variable is highly associated with
coronary artery atherogenesis, we adjusted the coronary
artery plaque size data for pretreatment differences as well as for
differences in plasma triglyceride and HDL-C concentrations
(see Table 4). There was little or no indication of
coronary artery atherosclerotic plaque progression among the
animals treated with lipid lowering alone (group 2). Coronary
artery plaque sizes of groups 3 and 4 were not different. Furthermore,
these relationships persisted even when unadjusted values for plaque
size were compared.
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Coronary Artery Lumen Size
Fig 2 is a schematic illustration of
coronary artery sizes, plaque sizes, and lumen areas of the
baseline necropsy group and the three treatment groups. During the
treatment phase, there were marked increases in overall artery size as
well as lumen size (P=.01 versus baseline). In both the left
circumflex and left anterior descending coronary arteries,
there was a tendency toward more remodeling among the animals of group
4 compared with groups 2 and 3.
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Abdominal Aorta Chemical Composition
After 2 years of an atherogenic diet, the abdominal aortas of the
baseline group had high amounts of total arterial
cholesterol (14 µg cholesterol/mg wet wt)
compared with normal arteries (1 to 2 µg cholesterol/mg
wet wt). The three groups fed the lipid-lowering diet for 2 years had
significantly less total aortic cholesterol content
relative to the baseline group (6 µg cholesterol/mg wet
wt; P<.05 versus group 1). There was no effect of hormone
replacement therapy on total, free, or esterified
cholesterol content in the abdominal aorta.
Reactivity of Large Epicardial Coronary Arteries
The mean coronary artery diameters before infusion of
agonists (during the first intracoronary infusion of 5%
dextrose in water) were 1.23±0.21 mm in the baseline necropsy group
(group 1), 1.18±0.25 mm in group 2, 1.24±0.17 mm in group 3, and
1.11±0.20 mm in group 4 (F=0.8, P=.25). There was virtually
no change in coronary artery diameters in response to
acetylcholine at 10-8 mol/L, but there was a statistically
significant reduction in coronary artery diameter in response
to 10-7 mol/L acetylcholine. Coronary arteries of
group 1 (baseline) monkeys constricted (compared with diameter measured
at first control) in response to intracoronary infusion of
10-6 mol/L acetylcholine (Fig 3). There
were no differences in response to 10-6 mol/L
acetylcholine among the three treatment groups (P>.4).
Coronary arteries in all groups of monkeys dilated (compared
with second control) in response to nitroglycerin
(P>.4; Fig 4). There was virtually no change
in diameter of the proximal left circumflex coronary artery
during infusion of adenosine (P>.4).
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Coronary Flow Reserve
Coronary flow reserve was greater in monkeys treated with
both lipid lowering and estrogen replacement than lipid lowering alone
(P=.02; Fig 5). However, addition of a
progestin to the estrogen regimen diminished the effect of estrogen on
coronary flow reserve (P=.03). Coronary flow
reserve in the atherosclerotic monkeys that were not part of the trial
was 1.5±0.6.
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Discussion |
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The major result of the study is that dietary lowering of plasma cholesterol concentrations induced both structural and functional improvements in the atherosclerotic arteries of surgically postmenopausal female monkeys. However, addition of estrogen replacement (with or without an added progestin) offered very little additional improvement in artery "regression."
Regression in Females: Comparison With Regression in Males: Plasma
Lipids
Similar to what has been shown in male monkeys,25
reducing the dietary consumption of cholesterol by females
reduces plasma concentrations of LDL-C and increases plasma
concentrations of HDL-C. There is a corresponding increase in plasma
apo A-I and apo A-II concentrations. Additionally, the LDL molecular
weight is predictably lower after plasma lowering of
cholesterol. All of these changes are
consistent with those expected to reduce the progression of
coronary artery atherosclerosis and reduce the
incidence of CHD. Therefore, both males and females appear to have
similar plasma lipid changes in response to lowering dietary
cholesterol intake.
The effect of estrogen treatment on the plasma lipids and lipoproteins of women has been studied extensively and is the subject of a number of recent reviews.26 27 28 In 1991, Lobo29 summarized the effect of a daily 0.625-mg dose of conjugated equine estrogens on plasma lipids and lipoproteins in women. He reported decreases of 5% to 10% in TPC, LDL-C, and apo B concentrations and increases from 15% to 28% in plasma triglyceride, VLDL, HDL-C, HDL subclasses 2 and 3, and apo A-I concentrations. These results from observational studies have recently been confirmed in the report from a randomized trial (PEPI: Postmenopausal Estrogen/Progestin Intervention).30 The PEPI results are reported as change from baseline, and conjugated equine estrogen treatment (0.625 mg/d) resulted in a significantly greater lowering of LDL-C and significantly greater increase in HDL-C concentrations compared with placebo.
How the addition of medroxyprogesterone acetate to a regimen of conjugated equine estrogens affects cardiovascular risk factors also has been reported from the PEPI trial. Women who received conjugated equine estrogens with medroxyprogesterone acetate either cyclically (10 mg/d for 12 d/mo) or continuously (2.5 mg/d) had significantly greater increases in HDL-C than women given placebo and significantly lower HDL-C increases than women receiving conjugated equine estrogens only. There was no significant difference in HDL-C changes between the two groups given medroxyprogesterone acetate, although blood sample collection times relative to medroxyprogesterone administration were not reported for the cyclic group.
In an analysis of available information in 1993, Lobo26 concluded that medroxyprogesterone acetate may cause reductions in HDL-C and even increases in LDL-C; however, the balance between the dose of estrogen and the dose of progestin is important in determining the magnitude of such changes. He reported that when a 5-mg dose of medroxyprogesterone acetate was given to women, reductions of about 6% in HDL-C, about 11% in the HDL2 subclass, and 5% in apo A-I were seen. Our observations on the plasma lipids and lipoproteins of hormone-treated monkeys are different from those in women. We have no current metabolic explanation for the HDL-C decreases we observed in groups 3 and 4, nor can we explain the different effects in monkeys and women relative to estrogen influences on apo A-I and the HDL subclasses. The fact that both estrogen treatments lowered the plasma HDL-C concentrations should not detract from the relevance of the atherosclerosis observations. In studies using the cynomolgus macaque model treated with oral contraceptive steroids, ethinyl estradiol protected against the development of atherosclerosis despite rather marked lowering of plasma HDL-C concentrations.31 Similarly, in studies of surgically postmenopausal monkeys given Silastic implants of estradiol, the progression of coronary artery atherosclerosis was reduced by half despite no significant differences in the plasma HDL-C concentrations.11 In that study and others, we showed that only about 20% of the beneficial effects of estrogen on coronary artery atherosclerosis relate to plasma lipoprotein changes; the remaining 80% we called the "residual effects" of estrogen, which presumably operate at the level of the coronary artery.32
We found no effect of hormone treatment and a lipid-lowering diet on plasma Lp(a) concentrations. In women, the literature regarding the effects of estrogen and progestin treatment on plasma Lp(a) concentrations is conflicting.33 34 35 36 The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cross-sectional study33 reported a significant difference between postmenopausal estrogen users and nonusers, but there was no difference between those treated with estrogen only and estrogen plus progestin. Lobo et al34 reported that plasma concentrations of Lp(a) are influenced primarily by genetic factors and that estrogen treatment had only a minor influence on its hepatic synthesis. Soma et al35 evaluated the plasma concentrations of Lp(a) of 55 postmenopausal women not treated or treated with 1.25 mg conjugated equine estrogens plus 10 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate. They reported Lp(a) reductions of about 50% in the treated group, with a return to pretreatment concentrations after cessation of therapy. Farish et al36 reported that treatment of 18 surgically postmenopausal women with unopposed estrogen had no large or consistent effect on plasma Lp(a) concentrations, leaving open the question whether the difference between their study and that of Soma et al35 related to dosage or the use of medroxyprogesterone acetate.
Among nonhuman primates, there is a major male/female difference in LDL particle size, with premenopausal monkeys having significantly smaller LDL particles than males.37 Further, among females, small LDL particles are related to plasma estradiol concentrations. Following surgical menopause, LDL molecular weights increase from 3.23 to 3.35 g/µmol (P<.005) to become indistinguishable from those of males. Lower LDL molecular weights and less LDL accumulation were found in the coronary arteries of ovarian hormone–replaced monkeys.38 The association between LDL molecular weight and coronary artery atherosclerosis extent in monkeys is strong.39 In the present study, both of the hormone-treated groups had significantly reduced LDL molecular weights, while the addition of medroxyprogesterone acetate tended to attenuate the reduction.
The implications of these LDL molecular weight changes for women are clearer now than in the past. Campos et al40 reported different effects of two doses of conjugated equine estrogens (without medroxyprogesterone acetate) in postmenopausal women, depending on their LDL subclasses: the proportion of large LDL particles decreased, whereas the proportion of smaller, intermediate-size LDL particles increased.
Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis
There were no effects of hormone replacement therapy on plaque
size during lowering of plasma cholesterol. This was
unexpected, since hormone replacement therapy with subcutaneous
estradiol plus progesterone is known to inhibit progression of
atherosclerosis.12 However, these results
are in line with our finding that lipid lowering itself did not
decrease plaque size. There was a trend toward larger lumens and
overall artery size in monkeys that received combined treatment (group
4). We cannot tell whether this would have been statistically
significant if more animals had been in the treatment groups or whether
results would have been different if other estrogens or progesterones
had been used. Therefore, it remains unclear whether hormone
replacement therapy aids in the remodeling of coronary arteries
during regression.
Coronary Artery Reactivity
There was no further effect of hormone replacement therapy on
reactivity of large epicardial coronary arteries beyond that
measured during lipid lowering. These findings are in contrast with
those that show favorable effects of estrogen on reactivity of
atherosclerotic coronary arteries.12 13 As
mentioned previously, lipid lowering reduced the amount of
cholesterol in the arteries. This cholesterol
is a source of superoxide anions, which may inhibit nitric
oxide–mediated dilation.41 Whatever effect estrogen may
have on coronary artery reactivity of "regressed"
arteries may be minimal compared with the effect of reducing the
oxidant stress in the artery.
There is little information regarding the effects of progestins on coronary vasomotion. One report indicated that pharmacological doses of progesterone improved endothelium-independent dilation of nonatherosclerotic coronary arteries of rabbits,42 although it may be inappropriate to compare the effects of progesterone and synthetic progestins on coronary vasomotion. We reported recently that medroxyprogesterone acetate diminishes the beneficial effects of conjugated equine estrogens on endothelium-mediated dilation of coronary arteries of ovariectomized female monkeys.43 At present, it remains undetermined why a progestin would affect large-artery reactivity in atherosclerotic but not "regressed" coronary arteries. Results of the present experiment extend those of previous experiments by showing that addition of a progestin to an estrogen replacement regimen does not affect responsivity of large epicardial coronary arteries after dietary lowering of plasma cholesterol.
Modulation of Vasomotion of Large Atherosclerotic Epicardial
Coronary Arteries
Atherosclerosis impairs
endothelium-mediated dilation of arteries at various
arterial sites.44 45 The combination of
acetylcholine and nitroglycerin does not definitively
indicate a mechanism by which lipid lowering affects vascular
reactivity. Ohara et al41 showed that superoxide anion
production is increased in atherosclerotic arteries. They
speculated that the source of superoxide anions may be related to the
presence of macrophages, oxidized lipid, and the parent cell
types in the artery wall (eg, endothelial cells, smooth
muscle cells). The superoxide anions from these sources could
inactivate nitric oxide en route to the smooth muscle cells. During
lipid lowering, both free and esterified cholesterol are
removed from the arteries.46 47 We speculate that lipid
lowering improved endothelium-induced dilation by
reducing superoxide anion concentrations derived from the cells and
associated cholesterol in the atherosclerotic lesions,
thereby increasing the availability of nitric oxide. However, we cannot
rule out other possibilities, such as upregulating
endothelial cell muscarinic-receptor activity or
enhancing the nitric oxide sympathetic pathway, as explanations for the
effects of lipid lowering on endothelium-induced
dilation.
Coronary Flow Reserve
Studies by Reiss et al48 indicated that acute
estrogen treatment improves coronary flow reserve among
postmenopausal women. Results of our studies are consistent
with those of Reiss et al but also show that chronic estrogen treatment
improves coronary flow reserve after dietary lipid
lowering.
Additional monkeys were studied to determine the coronary flow reserve in atherosclerotic female monkeys. Comparisons of flow reserve values in groups 2 through 4 with those of the additional monkeys indicate that coronary flow reserve is highest in nonatherosclerotic monkeys, lowest in atherosclerotic monkeys, and slightly increased (compared with atherosclerotic monkeys) in monkeys undergoing dietary lowering of plasma cholesterol. Statistical analysis between additional groups of monkeys and trial monkeys is not appropriate, because these monkeys were not all part of the original trial population. The coronary flow reserve values in monkeys are lower than those reported previously in dogs22 and human beings. It is unclear whether this represents a species difference or some impairment of flow by the Doppler wire in the small coronary arteries of monkeys. The latter possibility seems unlikely, however, since coronary flow velocity, blood pressure, and heart rate were unaffected by the presence of the flow wire.
Since the diameter of large epicardial coronary arteries did not change dramatically in response to infusion of adenosine, the increase in coronary flow reserve in estrogen-treated animals is most likely due to dilation of downstream, resistance-size coronary arteries. Therefore, our results suggest that estrogen augmented dilation of smaller, resistance-size coronary arteries even after dietary lowering of plasma cholesterol. It is unclear why estrogen would improve vascular responses only in smaller coronary arteries after lipid lowering. One possibility is that estrogen modulates reactivity of large epicardial and resistance-size coronary arteries through different mechanisms, although these mechanisms were not examined in this experiment. Although atherosclerosis does not develop in smaller, intramyocardial resistance-size arteries, they are exposed to the same dyslipoproteinemia as the larger arteries and may, in fact, be more sensitive to changes in plasma lipids. Regardless of the mechanism(s), this finding may help explain, in part, how estrogen treatment reduces the clinical symptoms of microvascular angina in women.49
Interestingly, addition of a progestin to the estrogen regimen diminished the beneficial effects of estrogen on coronary flow reserve. This is consistent with results of a recent report that medroxyprogesterone acetate diminished the beneficial effects of conjugated estrogens on endothelium-mediated dilation of large epicardial coronary arteries.50 Progestins usually are added to an estrogen replacement regimen to reduce the risk of endometrial cancer associated with unopposed estrogen replacement. Therefore, this finding may have important implications about the risk/benefit ratio of progestin therapy. It is unclear why two closely related steroid hormones (an estrogen and a progestin) would have opposite effects on coronary vasomotion. Effects of progestins on coronary artery reactivity need to be explored to better understand how their risk/benefit ratio relates to CHD in postmenopausal women.
Conclusions
Lowering plasma cholesterol concentrations of
atherosclerotic monkeys has favorable effects on both the structure and
function of coronary arteries. These include remodeling of
coronary arteries, removal of cholesterol from the
abdominal aorta, and improved dilator responses of large epicardial
coronary arteries to acetylcholine.
Estrogen replacement reduces the risk of coronary events in women with existing coronary artery disease. Addition of hormone replacement to the lipid-lowering regimen in the present study of monkeys had very little additional benefit on artery structure and function. These data raise interesting questions about the mechanism(s) by which estrogen reduces the risk of CHD in women with existing atherosclerosis. If estrogen does not cause significant reductions in plaque size, it may promote coronary artery remodeling and stabilize atherosclerotic plaques, making them less susceptible to rupture and thrombosis.
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Acknowledgments |
|---|
This work was supported in part by grants HL-38964 and PO1-HL-45666, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md; and by a Grant-in-Aid (92007730, to Dr Williams) from the American Heart Association. The authors thank Karen Potvin Klein for editing the manuscript and Jamie Fox, Debbie Golden, Vickie Hardy, and Maryanne Post for technical assistance.
Received March 7, 1995; accepted April 21, 1995.
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