Honors Program
Honors in Biology
Date of Award
5-2022
Thesis Professor(s)
Dr. Cerrone Foster
Thesis Professor Department
Biological Sciences
Thesis Reader(s)
Dr. Gerardo Arceo-Gómez, Dr. Thomas C. Jones
Abstract
Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) accounts for the leading number of deaths worldwide. Prior to menopause, women exhibit lower rates of CVD compared to age-matched men, however, risks for women increase with menopause. Studies show estrogen loss and age exacerbating cardiac β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) signaling and contractile function. We therefore hypothesized that prolonged estrogen deficiency and chronic β-adrenergic stimulation cause decreases in cardiac function and increases in fibrosis in aged female hearts. Female mice underwent either an ovariectomy (OVX) or a control SHAM surgery at 10 weeks old and were infused with Isoproterenol for three days via mini osmotic pumps in order to induce chronic β-adrenergic stimulation 12-months post-surgery. Our results show prolonged estrogen deficiency from the OVX exacerbates cardiac function and fibrosis compared to SHAM. These differences highlight the importance of continued research on cardiac estrogen deficiency mechanisms to understand the long-term effects in the heart during both CVD and menopause.
Publisher
East Tennessee State University
Document Type
Honors Thesis - Withheld
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Moore, Erin, "The Impact Of Long Term Ovariectomy On Diastolic Function And Fibrosis Following Chronic Sympathetic Stimulation In Mice" (2022). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 712. https://dc.etsu.edu/honors/712
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.