Yamaleyeva LM, Gallagher PE, Vinsant S, Chappell MC. Discoordinate regulation of renal nitric oxide synthase isoforms in ovariectomized mRen2.Lewis rats. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 292: R819 -R826, 2007. First published October 5, 2006; doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00389.2006.-Estrogen depletion markedly exacerbates hypertension in female congenic mRen2.Lewis rats, a model of tissue renin overexpression. Because estrogen influences nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and NO may exert differential effects on blood pressure, the present study investigated the functional expression of NOS isoforms in the kidney of ovariectomized (OVX) mRen2.Lewis rats. OVX-mRen2.Lewis exhibited an increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 171 Ϯ 5 vs. 141 Ϯ 7 mmHg (P Ͻ 0.01) for intact littermates. Renal cortical mRNA and protein levels for endothelial NOS (eNOS) were reduced 50 -60% (P Ͻ 0.05) and negatively correlated with blood pressure. In contrast, cortical neuronal NOS (nNOS) mRNA and protein levels increased 100 to 300% (P Ͻ 0.05). In the OVX kidney, nNOS immunostaining was more evident in the macula densa, cortical tubules, and the medullary collecting ducts compared with the intact group. To determine whether the increase in renal nNOS expression constitutes a compensatory response to the reduction in renal eNOS, we treated both intact and OVX mRen2.Lewis rats with the selective nNOS inhibitor L-VNIO from 11 to 15 wk of age. The nNOS inhibitor reduced blood pressure in the OVX group (185 Ϯ 3 vs. 151 Ϯ 8 mmHg, P Ͻ 0.05), but pressure was not altered in the intact group (146 Ϯ 4 vs. 151 Ϯ 4 mmHg). In summary, exacerbation of blood pressure in the OVX mRen2.Lewis rats was associated with the discoordinate regulation of renal NOS isoforms. Estrogen sensitivity in this congenic strain may involve the influence of NO through the regulation of both eNOS and nNOS. endothelial nitric oxide synthase; estrogen; hypertension; aldosterone; angiotensin II; renin THE PROTECTIVE ROLE OF ESTROGEN in cardiovascular disease remains a highly controversial and complex area of study, particularly given the recent findings of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study. Although experimental and clinical data support the beneficial actions of estrogen, both the WHI and the Heart and Estrogen Replacement Study follow-up (HERS II) studies concluded that there was no cardioprotective benefit for estrogen replacement in older women with underlying cardiovascular disease (19, 39). Indeed, the incidence for ischemic stroke and dementia were higher for this population of postmenopausal women receiving either estrogen or combined hormone replacement therapy (40, 41). The results of WHI and HERS were surprising, in part, due to the generally accepted view that estrogen has beneficial actions on nitric oxide (NO), as well as an inhibitory influence on the components of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), including ACE and the angiotensin type 1 (AT1) receptor (6,12,17,26,33,45).Our studies in the congenic mRen2.Lewis strain of hypertensive rats ...