ORCID

0000-0002-6229-5831 (Pepe)

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

DOI

10.1111/jmp.70076

Publication Title

Journal of Medical Primatology

Volume

55

Issue

3

Pages

e70076

Abstract

Background

Suppressing estradiol (E₂) during baboon pregnancy lowers offspring skeletal muscle capillary density, vital for insulin-mediated glucose uptake, and induces insulin resistance. We examined whether E₂ deprivation also impairs microvascular flow and cardiac function.

Methods

Offspring of untreated baboons, letrozole-treated baboons, or letrozole plus E₂ (maternal s.c. injections during the second half of gestation) underwent contrast-enhanced microbubble ultrasonography to quantify microvessel flow and echocardiography to assess cardiac performance.

Results

Letrozole reduced maternal serum E₂ by 95% (p <  0.01). In letrozole offspring, microbubble flux rate (β) fell 55% (p <  0.02), replenishment was 5 s slower (p <  0.03), and microvessel flow declined 40% (p = 0.05); all were restored by added E₂. Indices of systolic (isovolumic contraction), diastolic (isovolumic relaxation), global performance (Tei index), and cardiac output were unchanged.

Conclusion

Prolonged gestational E₂ deprivation programs a reduction in microvascular flow without altering cardiac function; maternal E₂ prevents this, supporting E₂'s role in optimizing postnatal perfusion and metabolic health.

Rights

© 2026 The Authors

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Data Availability

Article states: "The data that supported the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable requests."

Original Publication Citation

Turan, S., Babischkin, J. S., Aberdeen, G. W., Pepe, G. J., & Albrecht, E. D. (2026). Estrogen deprivation during primate (Papio anubis) pregnancy: Impact on systemic microvascular flow and cardiovascular development and function after birth in offspring. Journal of Medical Primatology, 55(3), Article e70076. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmp.70076

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