Effect of vitamin E deficiency and/or oral female sex hormones on aortic connective tissue components in female rat

A vitamin E (VE)-deficient diet and/or oral female sex hormones (OFH) were given for a period of 120 days to female rats, during which time the changes in the contents of aortic collagen, elastin and glycosaminoglycans (GAG) derived from the proteoglycans were investigated. The VE-deficient diet alone did not affect any of the parameters studied. The administration of OFH in VE sufficiency tended to increase all three component levels. The treatment with OFH under VE deficiency did not change the collagen and elastin levels, whereas it tended to decrease the contents of GAG, some of which have been known to have an anticoagulant and platelet aggregation-inhibitory activities. Thus, these observations might suggest that a poor VE status during intake of some xenobiotics such as OFH could be implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.