IntroductionFollicle stimulating hormone (FSH) is identified to play a role in postmenopausal disease and hypothesized to affect abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) onset/progression in postmenopausal women. We aimed to detectFSHRgene expression in AAA tissue and cell types involved in AAA formation.MethodsFSH stimulation of human umbilical cord endothelial cells (HUVECs), smooth muscle cells (HUCs) and PMA-differentiated macrophages to assess gene expression ofFSHRand various markers. Human macrophages activated with various stimuli were assessed forFSHRgene expression. AAA dataset, AAA tissue samples and AAA-derived smooth muscle cells (SMC) obtained from elderly female donors were assessed forFSHRgene expression. AAA-SMCs were stimulated with FSH to assess its effect on gene expression. Lastly, oxidized low-density-lipoprotein (ox-LDL) uptake and abundance of cell surface protein markers were assessed by flow cytometry after FSH stimulation of human monocytes.ResultsFSH stimulation showed similar levels of gene expression in HUVECs and HUCs. OnlyACTA2was downregulated in HUCs. In PMA-differentiated macrophages, gene expression of inflammation markers was unchanged after FSH stimulation.FSHRgene expression was found to be low in the AAA datasets. Female AAA-SMCs show occasionalFSHRgene expression at a very low level, yet stimulation with FSH did not affect gene expression of SMC- or inflammation markers. FSH stimulation did not impact ox-LDL uptake or alter cell surface protein expression in monocytes. WhileFSHRgene expression was detected in human testis tissue, it was below quantification level in all other investigated cell types, even upon activation of macrophages with various stimuli.ConclusionDespite previous reports, we did not detectFSHRgene expression in various extragonadal cell types, except in occasional female AAA-SMCs. No clear effect on cell activation was observed upon FSH stimulation in any cell type. Our data suggest that a direct effect of FSH in AAA-related extragonadal cells is unlikely to influence AAA.