The influence of ovarian hormones on the granulomatous inflammatory process in the rat lung

This study was initiated to clarify the relationship between ovarian hormones and the granulomatous inflammatory process in the lung. To assess whether ovarian dysfunction influences the granulomatous inflammatory process, we compared immunological alterations in ovariectomized rats and in sham-operated rats. After a heat-killed, bacilli Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-elicited granulomatous reaction, the lung-body weight ratios, the number of lymphocytes and activated T-cells, and the interferon-gamma levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from the ovariectomized rats were significantly higher than those of the sham-operated rats. Moreover, exogenous ovarian steroids supplemented in vivo suppressed not only the granulomatous inflammatory process in the lungs, but also the parameters measured in the bronchoalveolar fluid. These results indicate that ovarian dysfunction may adversely affect the formation of granulomas in the lung.