Gender-related differences in myocardial inflammatory and contractile responses to major burn trauma

Gender-related differences in immune responses to hemorrhage and sepsis have been described. However, most trauma studies continue to limit experimental models to males to avoid the variable responses associated with hormonal fluctuation in proestrus/estrus females. In the present study, male and female (either diestrus or proestrus/estrus) Sprague-Dawley rats (250-325 g) were given a third-degree scald burn over 40% total body surface area and fluid resuscitated (4 ml/kg per %burn of lactated Ringer solution); sham burn males and diestrus as well as sham burn proestrus/estrus female rats were included to provide controls. Twenty-four hours postburn, hearts were either perfused to examine mechanical function (Langendorff, n = 8 to 9 hearts/group) or to prepare cardiomyocytes (collagenase digestion, n = 4 to 5 hearts/group). Left ventricular developed pressure and the positive and negative first derivative of left ventricular pressure responses to increases in preload were significantly lower in burned males compared with responses measured in either burned proestrus/estrus or burned diestrus females; burn trauma increased cardiomyocyte secretion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, and nitric oxide to a lesser extent in proestrus/estrus females than levels secreted by either diestrus females or males. Similarly, myocytes from proestrus/estrus females accumulated significantly less sodium/calcium compared with values measured in males (P < 0.05). Our data confirm gender-related differences in myocardial function and myocardial inflammatory responses to burn injury.