About this Research Topic

Background

The influence of sex at the cardiovascular level involves both hormonal and non-hormonal factors, starting at the moment of conception by XX and XY chromosomes, and along the life by changes in hormonal status. These biological differences contribute to the different prevalence rates of cardiovascular disorders found in men and women, consistently confirmed throughout experimental and clinical studies in both health and disease. Women develop CVD later than men, but the incidence increases from menopause on, reaching an overall lifetime risk similar. Thus, sex-specific patterns of cardiac and vascular aging seem to play an important role in the development of CVD.

Mechanisms underlying sex hormone regulation of cardiovascular function include inflammatory and oxidative pathways, which are common molecular mechanisms of aging. In the endothelium, sex hormones modulate local and systemic responses to oxidative stress and inflammation depending on vascular aging, such that their absence along with aging could contribute to vascular dysfunction. In addition to gene and hormonal regulation, epigenetics is established as a basis for cardiovascular homeostasis with a transversal influence on different regulatory pathways already described, and is a powerful source of sex differences within the aging cardiovascular system.

Although increasing efforts have been made in this regard, there is still a need for a more detailed understanding of sex-specific cardiovascular mechanisms along life, which holds the potential to the development of targeted drugs. In accordance with the commitment to addressing sex differences in science, in this Research Topic we look forward to building a collection of original articles and reviews addressing the molecular mechanisms underlying sex differences in the cardiovascular system throughout life.

Subjects covered will include, but not limited to:
• Estrogen and testosterone receptors in cardiovascular aging.
• Sex-specific changes in gene expression on cardiovascular aging.
• Sex and aging in epigenetics on cardiovascular system.
• Sex differences in inflammatory pathways on cardiovascular system.
• Molecular mechanisms underlying cardiovascular aging associated with the menopause transition.
• Molecular mechanisms underlying cardiovascular aging associated with andropause.
• Cardiovascular risk factors in men and women.
• Sex differences in the heart-brain axis.

Keywords: cardiovascular aging, sex difference, menopause, andropause, epigenetics

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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