Table 2.

E2 repletion in male SuHx-PH rats results in plasma levels similar to those in healthy females

Group	Plasma E2 level, pg/ml
Male SuHx	8.14 ± 0.50
Male SuHx E2	14.34 ± 2.32*
Male SuHx veh	6.35 ± 0.33
Healthy female	16.44 ± 4.95

Sugen/hypoxia (SuHx)-induced pulmonary hypertension (SuHx-PH) was generated by administration of Su5416 (20 mg/kg subcutaneously) followed by 3 wk of hypobaric hypoxia (atmospheric pressure Patm = 362 mmHg; equivalent to 10% inspired oxygen fraction) and 4 wk of reexposure to room air. 17β-Estradiol (E2) repletion (75 μg·kg⁻¹·day⁻¹ via subcutaneous pellets) was started 1 wk prior to SuHx. Plasma E2 levels were measured by Calbiotech E2 ELISA. Male SuHx, untreated male SuHx group; male SuHx E2, male SuHx rats with concomitant E2 repletion; male SuHx veh, male SuHx rats with E2 vehicle. Plasma E2 levels from healthy female rats from Fig. 5 are included for comparison. Values are means ± SE. N = 6–13/group.

^*P < 0.01 vs. male SuHx (1-way ANOVA with post hoc Dunnett's test).