Abstract-Epidemiological evidence suggests a role for sex-dependent mechanisms in the pathophysiology of hypertension. It has been shown that 5␣-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) administration (56 mg/kg of body weight per day IP for 14 days) increases blood pressure, cytochrome P450 4A expression, and 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid synthesis in rats.We examined whether increased vascular 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid synthesis underlies endothelial dysfunction and hypertension in DHT-treated male Sprague-Dawley rats by using HET0016, a selective cytochrome P450 4A inhibitor. Coadministration of HET0016 (10 mg/kg per day IP for 14 days) to DHT-treated rats markedly reduced DHT-induced interlobar arterial production of 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (14.3Ϯ1.5 versus 1.5Ϯ0.5 ng/mg of protein per hour; PϽ0.05), superoxide anion (246Ϯ47 versus 31Ϯ8 cpm/g of protein), and the levels of gp91-phox, p47-phox, and 3-nitrosylated proteins. Moreover, the maximal relaxing response to acetylcholine in phenylephrinepreconstricted renal interlobar arteries from DHT-treated rats (42.8Ϯ4.8%) significantly (PϽ0.05) increased in the presence of HET0016 (81.5Ϯ10.8%). Importantly, the administration of HET0016 negated DHT-induced hypertension; systolic blood pressure was reduced from 146Ϯ2 mm Hg in DHT-treated rats to 130Ϯ1 mm Hg ( The synthesis of 20-HETE is catalyzed primarily by enzymes of the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 4A family. 6,7 CYP4A proteins are present in vascular tissues and show distinct distribution along the vascular tree. 8 Suppression and overexpression of CYP4A proteins in small arteries and arterioles decreases and increases, respectively, vascular reactivity and myogenic tone 7,9,10 ; these effects can be reversed by the addition of 20-HETE or inhibition of its synthesis.CYP4A and 20-HETE synthesis have been linked to hypertension in numerous experimental models. In the spontaneously hypertensive rat, depletion or inhibition of CYP4A activity lowers blood pressure (BP). 11,12 Inhibition of vascular 20-HETE synthesis by intravenous administration of CYP4A1 or CYP4A2 antisense oligonucleotides decreases BP in normotensive and hypertensive rats, 6,7 whereas transduction with adenoviruses expressing the CYP4A2 protein increases vascular CYP4A expression and 20-HETE levels and augments BP. 13 A role for androgens in promoting elevation of BP is well recognized 14 and, according to recent studies, such a role may rely on increased synthesis of vascular 20-HETE. Hence, mice deficient in cyp4a14 (the mouse homologue of CYP4A2) displayed androgen-sensitive hypertension, which was reversed by castration. 15 In these mice, cyp4a12 expression (the mouse homologue of CYP4A8) is elevated and so is renal microsomal 20-HETE synthesis. Similarly, androgeninduced hypertension in rats treated with 5␣-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) has been associated with increased CYP4A8 expression and renal vascular 20-HETE synthesis. 16 The mechanisms by which 20-HETE promotes hypertension are primarily linked to its ability to sensitize constrictor responsi...