AJP - Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol 263, Issue 2 E210-E213, Copyright © 1992 by American Physiological Society
Dehydroepiandrosterone prevents dexamethasone-induced hypertension in rats
Y. Shafagoj, J. Opoku, D. Qureshi, W. Regelson and M. Kalimi
Department of Physiology and Medicine, Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond 23298.
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is an endogenous steroid having a wide
variety of biological and biochemical effects. In the present study, we
have examined the role of DHEA on various rodent models of experimental
hypertension. Sprague-Dawley rats were given subcutaneous injections of 1.5
mg dexamethasone every alternate day, resulting in an increase in systolic
blood pressure within 1 wk. Interestingly, administration of a
pharmacological dose of 1.5, 3, or 7.5 mg DHEA along with dexamethasone
prevented dexamethasone-induced hypertension in a dose-dependent manner.
DHEA had no effect on the hypertension induced by deoxycorticosterone
acetate (DOCA)-salt administration using uninephrectomized rats or on the
genetic model of spontaneously hypertensive rats. Dexamethasone
administration resulted in a significant weight loss in rats, which was not
prevented by simultaneous administration of DHEA. These results indicate
that dexamethasone-mediated weight loss may involve mechanisms separate
from its hypertensive action. Dexamethasone treatment resulted in a
significant decrease in food consumption that was not reversed by DHEA. It
is concluded that DHEA at doses above physiological levels when given
subcutaneously has no effect on DOCA-salt or a genetic model of
hypertension but has a beneficial effect on dexamethasone-induced
hypertension.
