Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0020538 (hypertension)
170,190 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Endothelin-1 (ET-1), a 21-amino acid vasoactive peptide mainly produced by vascular endothelial cells, is involved in the regulation of vascular tone and smooth muscle cell proliferation. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), key players in lipid and glucose metabolism, have been implicated in metabolic disorders that are predisposing to atherosclerosis. Because of the potential role of ET-1 in vascular disorders such as hypertension and atherosclerosis, we investigated the regulation of ET-1 expression by PPAR activators. Western blot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analyses demonstrated that both PPARalpha and PPARgamma are expressed in human coronary artery endothelial cells as well as in endothelial cell lines such as HMEC-1 and ECV304. In bovine aortic endothelial cells and HMEC-1 cells, both PPARalpha and PPARgamma ligands inhibited thrombin-induced ET-1 secretion, whereas basal ET-1 secretion was only slightly suppressed. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction experiments showed that this inhibition of ET-1 production occurs at the gene expression level. Using transient transfection assays, we demonstrated that PPARs downregulate thrombin-activated transcription of the human ET-1 promoter. Transactivation studies with c-Jun and c-Fos expression plasmids indicated that PPARs negatively interfere with the activator protein-1 signaling pathway, which mediates thrombin activation of ET-1 gene transcription. Furthermore, electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that PPAR activators reduce the thrombin-stimulated binding activity of bovine aortic endothelial cell nuclear extracts as well as c-Jun binding to an activator protein-1 consensus site. Taken together, these data indicate that (1) both PPARalpha and PPARgamma are expressed in human vascular endothelial cells and (2) PPAR activators inhibit thrombin-induced ET-1 biosynthesis, indicating a novel role for PPARs in vascular endothelial function.
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PMID:Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor activators inhibit thrombin-induced endothelin-1 production in human vascular endothelial cells by inhibiting the activator protein-1 signaling pathway. 1047 69

Thiazolidinediones are a new class of antidiabetic agent that improve insulin sensitivity and reduce plasma glucose and blood pressure in subjects with type 2 diabetes. Although these agents can bind and activate an orphan nuclear receptor, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma), there is no direct evidence to conclusively implicate this receptor in the regulation of mammalian glucose homeostasis. Here we report two different heterozygous mutations in the ligand-binding domain of PPARgamma in three subjects with severe insulin resistance. In the PPARgamma crystal structure, the mutations destabilize helix 12 which mediates transactivation. Consistent with this, both receptor mutants are markedly transcriptionally impaired and, moreover, are able to inhibit the action of coexpressed wild-type PPARgamma in a dominant negative manner. In addition to insulin resistance, all three subjects developed type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension at an unusually early age. Our findings represent the first germline loss-of-function mutations in PPARgamma and provide compelling genetic evidence that this receptor is important in the control of insulin sensitivity, glucose homeostasis and blood pressure in man.
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PMID:Dominant negative mutations in human PPARgamma associated with severe insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. 1062 50

Troglitazone and structurally related compounds (pioglitazone, rosiglitazone etc.) containing thiazolidinediones (TZD) are a novel class of antidiabetic agents which decrease blood glucose in diabetic animal models and in patients with Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM) through alleviating insulin resistance. A large body of evidence is now accumulating indicating that insulin resistance and/or resulting hyperinsulinemia underlie the pathogenesis of not only diabetes but also of the clustering syndrome called "syndrome X" or "insulin resistance syndrome" which includes hypertension, dislipidemia and hypercoagulation. Therefore, TZD class of insulin sensitizers seem to have therapeutic potential to improve this clustering syndrome in addition to diabetes. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the TZD class of insulin sensitizers including troglitazone bind and activate the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma), a nuclear hormone receptor. Although PPARgamma is predominantly expressed in adipose tissue, one of the target tissues for insulin, it have been subsequently found to be expressed in macrophages, vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), endothelial cells and several cancer cell lines. PPARgamma activation by PPARgamma agonists such as TZD class of insulin sensitizers in these cells modulates these cell functions such as the production of inflammatory cytokine by macrophages, proliferation and migration of VSMC, and growth or differentiation in cancer cells. In addition, troglitazone has potent antioxidant effect, and suppresses both L-type and receptor operated Ca2+ channel and protein kinase C. Thus since TZD class of insulin sensitizers has many kind of therapeutic effect in addition to lowering blood glucose, these agents expect to have therapeutic potential beyond diabetes.
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PMID:Troglitazone and related compounds: therapeutic potential beyond diabetes. 1106 64

The discovery of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) as the molecular target for antidiabetic thiazolidinediones has heralded a new era in the approach to understanding the pathophysiology of insulin resistance and its relationship to cardiovascular disease. However, the subsequent discovery of PPARgamma-dependent modulation of immune function and the cell cycle has led to a new paradigm in the approach to treating proliferative, inflammatory diseases. Moreover, PPARgamma agonists can promote apoptosis, block angiogenesis and inhibit pathological remodelling in a variety of malignant and non-malignant pathological states. These findings imply that the pharmacological modulation of this key nuclear transcription factor and its co-factors could be important tools in understanding the relationships between multigenic diseases, and pave the way to a focused interventional approach in their treatment. With the availability of the PPARgamma protein crystal structure, the ligand binding domain co-ordinates and a better knowledge of the interaction of PPARgamma with co-factor assemblies, libraries of simple synthetic organic PPARgamma ligands can be constructed. High throughput screening can identify the best candidates for targeting cellular phenotypic transition, cell cycle control, inflammation and apoptosis. Instead of single agents for single pathologies, one can envisage the development of multifunctional therapeutic agents that target the multiple cellular processes that contribute to multifactorial diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis, psoriasis and other inflammatory diseases, and carcinogenesis. The considerable potential of PPARgamma ligands in the treatment of diseases other than diabetes is the subject of this review.
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PMID:Pharmacological peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorgamma ligands: emerging clinical indications beyond diabetes. 1113 30

Angiotensin (A) II plays a critical role in vascular remodeling, and its action is mediated by type 1 AII receptor (AT1R). Recently, 15-deoxy-(Delta)(12,14)-prostaglandin J(2) and thiazolidinediones have been shown to be ligands for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma and activate PPAR-gamma. In the present work, we have studied the effect of PPAR-gamma on AT1R expression in rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). We observed that: 1) endogenous AT1R expression was significantly decreased by PPAR-gamma ligands both at messenger RNA and protein levels, whereas AT1R messenger RNA stability was not affected; 2) AII-induced increase of (3)H-thymidine incorporation into VSMCs was inhibited by PPAR-gamma ligands; 3) rat AT1R gene promoter activity was significantly suppressed by PPAR-gamma ligands, and PPAR-gamma overexpression further suppressed the promoter activity; 4) transcriptional analyses using AT1R gene promoter mutants revealed that a GC-box-related sequence within the -58/-34 region of the AT1R gene promoter was responsible for the suppression; 5) Sp1 overexpression stimulated AT1R gene transcription via the GC-box-related sequence, which was inhibited by additional PPAR-gamma overexpression; 6) electrophoretic mobility shift assay suggested that Sp1 could bind to the GC-box-related sequence whereas PPAR-gamma could not; 7) antibody supershift experiments using VSMC nuclear extracts revealed that protein-DNA complexes formed on the GC-box-related sequence, which were decreased by PPAR-gamma coincubation, were mostly composed of Sp1; and 8) glutathione S-transferase pull-down assay revealed a direct interaction between PPAR-gamma and Sp1. Taken together, it is suggested that activated PPAR-gamma suppresses AT1R gene at a transcriptional level by inhibiting Sp1 via a protein-protein interaction. PPAR-gamma ligands, thus, may inhibit AII-induced cell growth and hypertrophy in VSMCs by AT1R expression suppression and possibly be beneficial for treatment of diabetic patients with hypertension and atherosclerosis.
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PMID:Transcriptional suppression of type 1 angiotensin II receptor gene expression by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma in vascular smooth muscle cells. 1141 35

Insulin resistance has been highlighted as a common causal factor for glucose intolerance, hypertension and dyslipidemia, all of which are cardiovascular risk factors. A new class of antidiabetic agents, thiazolidinediones (TZDs), has been developed and demonstrated to improve insulin sensitivity. TZDs are high affinity ligands for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma), the crucial transcription factor for adipocytes. Recent studies showed that PPARgamma is also expressed in monocytes/macrophages and is suggested to be involved in atherosclerosis. We could detect PPARgamma gene transcript in several cultured endothelial cells (human aortic endothelial cells (HAoECs), human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs), human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and bovine carotid artery endothelial cells (BAECs)) as well as human coronary arteries we examined. Since endothelial dysfunction is critical for atherosclerosis, we investigated the effects of TZDs, troglitazone (TRO) and pioglitazone (PIO), on endothelial cell growth and secretion of C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), which we demonstrated as a novel endothelium-derived relaxing peptide, and endothelin (ET), a potent vasoconstrictor, using HAoECs, HCAECs, HUVECs and BAECs. When all these cultured endothelial cells were daily treated with TRO and PIO for 5 days, both TRO and PIO (10(-8)M) significantly stimulated (3)H-thymidine incorporation of all these endothelial cells. In contrast, higher dose of TRO and PIO (10(-5)M) significantly suppressed DNA synthesis. TRO and PIO also exerted the compatible effect on the increase of cell numbers. TRO and PIO significantly enhanced CNP secretion from BAECs. In contrast, ET secretion from BAECs was suppressed by both TRO and PIO in a dose-dependent manner. The results of the present study suggest that TZDs modulate endothelial functions, including regulation of endothelial cell growth and secretion of endothelium-derived vasoactive substances, which affect vascular tone and remodeling in the process of atherosclerosis.
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PMID:Thiazolidinediones, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonists, regulate endothelial cell growth and secretion of vasoactive peptides. 1150 Jan 81

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are a family of ligand-activated transcription factors that include PPAR-alpha, PPAR-gamma, and PPAR-delta. We hypothesized that PPAR expression in blood vessels could be reduced in hypertension to result in increased vascular growth and reduced apoptosis. We investigated the abundance of PPAR-alpha and PPAR-gamma in aorta and mesenteric arteries from young (6-week-old) and adult (16-week-old) spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) compared with age-matched control Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). mRNA levels of PPAR-alpha and PPAR-gamma were determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Protein expression was evaluated by Western blot and by immunohistochemistry. PPAR-gamma was expressed in aortic and mesenteric vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from intact tissue and cultured cells. PPAR-alpha was expressed in intact vascular tissue but was almost undetectable in cultured VSMCs. In mesenteric arteries from adult SHR, PPAR-alpha and PPAR-gamma mRNA levels were significantly greater than in WKY (P<0.05). In aorta, PPAR-alpha mRNA was significantly (P<0.05) more abundant in adult (but not in young) SHR than in WKY, whereas there was no difference in PPAR-gamma mRNA between WKY and SHR. PPAR-alpha and PPAR-gamma mRNA were greater in mesenteric arteries (P<0.05) in young and adult SHR than in WKY. Expression of PPAR-alpha and PPAR-gamma was similar in SHR and WKY in other tissues. In cultured mesenteric VSMCs, PPAR-gamma mRNA was 3-fold higher in SHR than in WKY. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that PPAR-gamma resided constitutively in the cytoplasm in primary and low-passaged aortic and mesenteric VSMCs, whereas PPAR-alpha was almost undetectable. Thus, aorta and mesenteric resistance arteries from SHR in the prehypertensive and the established phase of hypertension exhibit increased expression of both PPAR isoforms, whereas other tissues do not. Changes (increases) in PPAR expression may play a compensatory role in the remodeling of blood vessels in SHR.
Hypertension 2001 Aug
PMID:Increased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha and -gamma in blood vessels of spontaneously hypertensive rats. 1150 85

Insulin resistance is a key factor in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus and a co-factor in the development of dyslipidaemia, hypertension and atherosclerosis. The causes of insulin resistance include factors such as obesity and physical inactivity, and there may also be genetic factors. The mechanism of obesity-related insulin resistance involves the release of factors from adipocytes which exert a negative effect on glucose metabolism: free fatty acids, tumour necrosis factor-alpha and the recently discovered hormone, resistin. The two resulting abnormalities observed consistently in glucose-intolerant states are impaired suppression of endogenous glucose production, and impaired stimulation of glucose uptake. Among the genetic factors, a polymorphism (Pro12Ala) in the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma is associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and increased insulin sensitivity, primarily that of lipolysis. On the other hand, the association with insulin resistance of a common polymorphism (Gly972Arg) in the insulin receptor substrate 1, long believed to be a plausible candidate gene, is weak at best. This polymorphism may instead be associated with reduced insulin secretion, which, in view of the recent recognition of the insulin signalling system in beta-cells, results in the development of a novel pathogenic concept. Finally, fine-mapping and positional cloning of the susceptibility locus on chromosome 2 resulted in the identification of a polymorphism (UCSNP-43 G/A) in the calpain-10 gene. In non-diabetic Pima Indians, this polymorphism was associated with insulin resistance of glucose disposal. The pharmacological treatment of insulin resistance has recently acquired a novel class of agents: the thiazolidinediones. They act through regulation of PPARgamma-dependent genes and probably interfere favourably with factors released from adipocytes which mediate obesity-associated insulin resistance.
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PMID:Insulin resistance and insulin sensitizers. 1168 68

The prenyl-phenol antibiotics ascochlorin-related compounds, are known to reduce serum cholesterol and triglyceride, suppress hypertension, and ameliorate types-I and II diabetes. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism for these physiological effects. Here we report that the ascochlorin derivative, 4-O-carboxymethyl ascochlorin (AS-6) acts as a potent activator of the nuclear hormone receptor, PPARgamma, although it does not activate the related receptors, PPARalpha, PPARdelta or RARalpha. AS-6 interacts directly with the PPARgamma molecule in vitro, and induces differentiation of the mouse preadipocyte cell line 3T3-L1. Our results suggest that AS-6 is a partial agonist for PPARgamma with a novel chemical structure.
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PMID:PPARgamma activation and adipocyte differentiation induced by AS-6, a prenyl-phenol antidiabetic antibiotic. 1206 50

Resistance to the metabolic actions of insulin is thought to play a determining role in the aetiology of a great variety of disorders, including essential hypertension, accelerated atherosclerosis and cardiomyopathies. ACE inhibitors are recognised as being highly effective therapy for hypertension and cardiac insufficiency, and have a more beneficial effect on survival rate than expected on the basis of known mechanisms of action. The mechanism responsible for these extremely positive effects are just beginning to be understood and appear to be linked to the effects these drugs have on metabolism. The relationship between the insulin and angiotensin II (Ang II) signalling pathways needs to be fully clarified in order to prevent or correct the target organ damage resulting from changes in the cross-talk of these two hormonal systems. In recent years, Ang II has been shown to play a central role in cardiovascular and neuroendocrine physiology as well as in cellular cycle control. Moreover, the fact that Ang II utilises the insulin-receptor substrate (IRS)-1 to relay signals towards their intracellular destination, provides the biochemical explanation of how these two systems interact in a healthy organism and in a diseased one. Since it is overactivity of the renin-angiotensin system that seems to impair the intracellular response to insulin signalling, cardiovascular drugs that modulate the cellular transmission of Ang II have attracted particular interest. As well as the already widely-used ACE inhibitors, selective blockers of the Ang II type 1 receptor (AT(1)) have been shown to be clinically effective in the control of haemodynamic parameters, but with perhaps a less striking effect on glucose homeostasis. Many trials have investigated the effect of Ang II blockade on systemic glucose homeostasis. The inhibition of Ang II by ACE-inhibitors frequently showed a positive effect on glycaemia and insulin sensitivity, while information on the effects of AT(1) receptor antagonists on glucose homeostasis is more limited and controversial. An important limitation of these studies has been the short treatment and follow-up periods, even for the 'so called' long-term studies which were only 6 months. Several investigators have focused on the effects of the nuclear factors involved in gene transcriptions, especially with respect to the agonists/antagonists of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) and their intriguing interconnections with the insulin and Ang II subcellular pathways. In fact, in vitro and in vivo experimental studies have shown that thiazolidinediones (selective PPAR-gamma ligands) are not only powerful insulin sensitisers, but also have anti-hypertensive and anti-atherosclerotic properties. In addition to conventional pharmacological approaches, attempts have been made to use genetic transfer in the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. The development of powerful viral vectors carrying target genes has allowed us to restore the expression/function of specific proteins involved in the cellular mechanism of insulin resistance, and research now needs to move beyond animal models. Although a clearer picture is now emerging of the pathophysiological interaction between insulin and Ang II, especially from pre-clinical studies, there is much to be done before experimental findings can be used in daily clinical practice.
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PMID:The role of the angiotensin system in cardiac glucose homeostasis: therapeutic implications. 1207 80


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