Characteristics of the Endothelium in Both Sexes

Abstract The sex-related differences of behavior, anatomy, physiology, cellular and molecular biology are, at least in part, inherent to sexual chromosomes. On the other hand, sexual hormones have a wide influence in the cardiovascular system and several aspects of cardiovascular diseases are different between men and women, including incidence, prevalence, severity of diseases and effects of pharmacological treatments. In this chapter we discuss endothelial biology in both sexes. The focus is on the actions of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone on the endothelium-derived relaxing and contracting factors. The influence of sex of the sources of cell cultures, which are broadly used to study the mechanisms of action of sexual hormones on the endothelial biology, is also discussed. Therefore, it is mandatory to use males and females as experimental models and cells from both sexes in preclinical research aimed at understanding the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease and the effects of pharmacological treatment.