Female hormones reduce neutrophil responsiveness in vitro

Abstract

Neutrophils were preincubated with 17 betaestradiol and progesterone to determine the effects of these hormones on chemotactic peptidestimulated superoxide anion (02-) generation and degranulation. At pharmacologic levels 17 beta-estradiol was more active than progesterone with respect to inhibition of 02-generation as well as degranulation. An increase of preincubation time from 5 minutes to 25 minutes increased the percent inhibition. When 17 beta+stradiol and progesterone were combined at levels which approximate those measured during gestation, there was small but significant inhibition of 02-generation. Dexamethasone at equal molar concentration inhibited 02-generation only after 25 minutes of preincubation and at no time reached the level of inhibition attained by either of the sex hormones alone. Both estradiol and progesterone at pharmacologic levels significantly inhibited betaglucuronidase and lysozyme release, whereas dexamethasone did not inhibit degranulation despite prolonged preincubation. Neutrophils isolated from women during various phases of the menstrual cycle and during the -

Modulatory effects of estrogen in two murine models of experimental colitis

“…Our results are in accordance with previous reports in systems other than the gastrointestinal tract, where an inhibitory effect of estrogen on PMN infiltration has also been suggested. 17␤-Estradiol was shown to reduce PMN chemotaxis and PMN infiltration at several sites of inflammation (7,15,56,66) and to decrease the level of adhesion molecules, such as sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 in cardiovascular disease (9,61).…”

Transdermal Estradiol in Menopausal Women Depresses Interleukin-6 without Affecting Other Markers of Immune Response

“…This interaction between the immune and the endocrine system achieves an integrated adaptational response at a whole body level [1,2]. It has been reported that women who have taken oral contraceptives showed a decrease in natural cell-mediated immunity, impairment of the activity on natural killer cells and suppression of neutrophil function [3,4]. On the other hand, oral hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in menopausal women has caused a significant attenuation of cell-mediated immunity and reduction of both cytotoxic and natural killer cell numbers suggesting an impaired immune response [5].…”

Effects of Hormone Replacement Therapy on Selected Indices of Immune Function in Postmenopausal Women

“…As a result, many clinical studies have been performed to examine the risks and benefits of ERT during postmenopause. These studies have addressed factors involving cardiovascular disease [1][2][3][4], cancer [5][6][7], osteoporosis [8] and immune function [9][10][11][12][13] and have produced varied results.…”