The influence of steroids on vascular tension of isolated superficial veins of the nose and face during the estrous cycle of gilts

The arrangement of the superficial facial veins enables blood flow from the nasal cavity into the peripheral circulation by two pathways: through the frontal vein into the cavernous sinus and through the facial vein into the external jugular vein. The current study was designed to determine whether estradiol and progesterone affect the vascular tone of the superficial veins of the nose and face in cycling gilts (Sus scrofa f. domestica) and to analyze the immunolocalization of progesterone receptors and estradiol receptors in these veins. The influence of hormones on vascular tension differed depending on the type of vessel and the phase of the estrous cycle. Estradiol decreased vascular tension in the nasal vein during the follicular phase (P < 0.05) and increased tension in the frontal vein during the luteal phase (P < 0.05). Progesterone increased the vascular tension of the frontal vein (P < 0.05) and decreased the tension of the other veins (P < 0.05) in both phases of the cycle. Expression of estradiol receptor β but not of progesterone receptor was observed in the superficial veins of the nose and face. In conclusion, the effect of ovarian steroid hormones on the vascular tension of the superficial veins of the nose and face in female pigs as well as the reactivity of these veins to steroid boar pheromones can affect the blood supply from the nasal cavity to the venous cavernous sinus. We propose that the ovarian steroid hormones that modulate the vascular tension of the nasal and facial veins may also influence the action of boar pheromones absorbed into the nasal mucosa in gilts and may reach the brain via local destination transfer.