Gender differences in pulmonary inflammation have been well documented. Although low molecular mass hyaluronan (LMMHA) is known to trigger pulmonary lung inflammation, sex differences in susceptibility to LMMHA are still unknown. In this study, we test the hypothesis that mice may display sex-specific differences after LMMHA administration. After LMMHA administration, male mice have higher neutrophil, cytokine, and chemokine counts compared to that of their female counterparts. Additionally, Ovariectomized (OVX) mice show greater LMMHA-induced inflammation compared to that of mice with intact ovaries. Injections of OVX mice with 17β-estradiol can decrease inflammatory responses in the OVX mice. These results show that ovarian hormones regulate LMMHA induced lung inflammation.
Keywords: 17β-estradiol; acute lung inflammation; gender differences; low-molecular-mass hyaluronan (200 kDa).