Angiotensin II Receptor Blockage Prevents Diabetes-Induced Oxidative Damage in Rat Heart

Ozdemir, Semir; Tandogan, B.; Ulusu, N. N.; Turan, B.

doi:10.14712/fb2009055010011

Folia Biologica > Archive > 2009, Vol. 55 > Issue 1 > Angiotensin II Receptor Blockage…

Fol. Biol. 2009, 55, 11-16

https://doi.org/10.14712/fb2009055010011

Angiotensin II Receptor Blockage Prevents Diabetes-Induced Oxidative Damage in Rat Heart

Semir Ozdemir¹, B. Tandogan², N. N. Ulusu², B. Turan³

¹Akdeniz University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biophysics, Antalya, Turkey
²Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Ankara, Turkey
³Ankara University, School of Medicine, Department of Biophysics, Ankara, Turkey

Received June 2008
Accepted January 2009

Current findings suggest a role for the angiotensin II (Ang II) signalling pathway in generation of reactive oxygen species and diabetes-induced cardiac complications. In this study we aimed to investigate the effect of angiotensin II type 1 (AT₁) receptor blockage on some antioxidant enzy mes such as glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), 6-phoshogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), gluta thione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) in the heart of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. The effect of AT₁ receptor blocker, candesartan-cilexetil (5 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks) was studied. Diabetes caused hyperglycaemia (4-fold of control) with significant increases in G6PD, 6PGD, GR, GSH-PX, CAT and no effect on GST in heart tissues as compared to normal control rats. Treatment of STZ-induced diabetic rats with candesartan-cilexetil had sig nificant beneficial effects on these parameters without any side effect on control rats. These results suggest that Ang II can take part in induction of oxidative stress in diabetic rat heart and that blockage of its activity by AT₁ receptor blocker is potentially protective against diabetes-induced cellular damage.