Ana Sofia Parra Sanchez
Supervisor: Silvia Pagliardini
Project: How do sex hormones affect breathing?
"Breathing isn't controlled by just one structure; what we often take for granted is the result of multiple areas working together seamlessly to regulate this vital function and adapt to our changing environment."
Effects of sex hormones on breathing
Sex hormones like progesterone – a hormone that supports menstruation and maintaining a pregnancy – have long been known to influence breathing. Additionally, the reduction in circulating progesterone levels in women is proposed to be a main contributing factor to the increased frequency of sleep-disordered breathing in menopause, although the mechanisms through which progesterone affects breathing are not yet fully understood.
Recent results in our laboratory show that etonogestrel, a potent drug that activates progesterone receptors, enhances breathing in healthy condition – more air comes in and out the lungs– and recovers breathing impairment in an animal model in which the response to inhaled CO2 (which usually stimulates breathing) is impaired.
In this project, we will continue our investigation to determine whether etonogestrel acts through the hypothalamus, a brain region that is activated by CO2 and stimulates the respiratory network in the brain and expresses high levels of progesterone receptors. We will infuse etonogestrel over a three week period in the hypothalamus and will test the respiratory effects in an animal model.
We hypothesize that etonogestrel will stimulate breathing in both experimental models and will promote respiratory recovery in the model of impaired response to CO2. Results from our experiments will help identify the effects and mechanisms of action of sex hormones in the brain, and how the stimulation of the hypothalamus influences aspects of respiratory control.
Ana Sofia Parra Sanchez was supervised by Silvia Pagliardini and her summer studentship was funded by the Alberta Women’s Health Foundation. She is enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Honors Physiology program.
