Credit score: Communications Biology (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s42003-025-08291-6
A brand new preclinical research from Monash College has uncovered the position of the feminine intercourse hormone estrogen in defending the hearts of girls with hypertension—a hyperlink that, till now, has not been absolutely understood by scientists.
The research, led by the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) and printed in Communications Biology, recognized that estrogen will increase the degrees of a pure protein known as “annexin-A1” (ANXA1) in feminine mice. The MIPS staff had beforehand proven that ANXA1 performs a important position in regulating blood strain.
Within the present research, the researchers found that when ANXA1 is lacking, hypertension results in extra extreme harm within the coronary heart and major blood vessels, particularly in females.
The findings recommend that the estrogen-ANXA1 affiliation performs an vital position in defending ladies’s hearts from harm attributable to hypertension. This discovery might pave the way in which for brand new therapies, similar to medicines that mimic ANXA1—explicitly designed to enhance coronary heart well being in ladies.
First creator and Monash College Honorary Fellow Dr. Jaideep Singh mentioned this analysis helps clarify why ladies might expertise coronary heart illness in another way from males, particularly after they have hypertension.
“Our study reveals a biological link between the female hormone estrogen and the protein ANXA1 that protects the heart—something scientists didn’t fully understand before. Essentially, we found that estrogen helps increase ANXA1 protein, and when ANXA1 is missing, the heart is more vulnerable to damage due to poor mitochondrial function, the body’s energy system,” Dr. Singh mentioned.
This discovery is a vital step towards creating coronary heart illness therapies tailor-made particularly for girls, addressing a niche that has been ignored in medical analysis for a very long time.
“We’re really excited about what this discovery could mean for future new treatments that enhance ANXA1, providing better protection for women with high blood pressure,” Dr. Singh mentioned. “These therapies might help prevent serious problems like heart failure by focusing on the unique ways women’s hearts and blood vessels work. It also highlights the importance of doctors considering sex differences when deciding how to treat heart disease.”
Dr. Chengxue Helena Qin, co-lead creator from MIPS mentioned, “There has been a major gap in understanding how high blood pressure and its treatments affect men and women differently. Clinical trials have historically overlooked sex-specific responses, leaving women underrepresented and underserved.”
“There’s an urgent need to uncover the distinct mechanisms driving hypertension and its cardiovascular complications in females—an underexplored population. Closing this knowledge gap is essential for developing more effective, sex-specific treatments,” Dr. Qin mentioned.
“Our objective is to maneuver towards finding out how estrogen controls ANXA1 in people to see if it really works the identical method as in animals. This course of will contain testing new medicines that enhance ANXA1 in animal research to examine if these can shield the center from harm attributable to hypertension.
“Additionally, our team will investigate whether this protective system plays a role in other heart conditions that impact men and women differently.”
Professor David Greening, joint senior creator and Head of Molecular Proteomics on the Baker Coronary heart and Diabetes Institute, mentioned, “This study reveals the power of proteomics—the large-scale study of proteins—in advancing our understanding of the causes of heart and blood vessel diseases. It also provides detailed molecular insights into why men and women experience these conditions differently, helping us move toward more precise and targeted therapies for high blood pressure and related heart problems.”
Finally, the staff goals to advance these findings towards medical testing, significantly to learn ladies with hypertension.
Extra info:
Jaideep Singh et al, Annexin-A1 deficiency uncovers female-specific pathways in blood strain management and cardiovascular transforming in mice, Communications Biology (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s42003-025-08291-6
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