Masters Degrees (Medical Physiology)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Medical Physiology) by Subject "Angiotensin II"

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    The impact of activation of the renin-angiotensin system in the development of insulin resistance in experimental models of obesity
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009-03) Perel, Shireen J. C.; Huisamen, Barbara; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Health Sciences. Dept. of Biomedical Sciences. Medical Physiology.
    Insulin stimulates the production of nitric oxide (NO) in endothelial cells and cardiac myocytes by a signalling pathway that involves the insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1, phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase and protein kinase B (PKB/Akt). Physiological concentrations of NO play an important part in maintaining normal vascular function. It has been suggested that nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and NO production are chronically impaired in diabetes mellitus by an unknown mechanism. The reninangiotensin system and subsequent production of angiotensin II (Ang II) are elevated in obesity and diabetes while antagonism of the AT1 receptor with Losartan has beneficial effects in patients with insulin resistance and type II diabetes. Aims: We therefore aimed to investigate (i) the effect of Ang II on myocardial insulin signalling with regards to key proteins (IRS-1, PKB/Akt, eNOS and p38 MAPK) in correlation with NO production, (ii) the effect of Losartan on these parameters. Methods: Hyperphagia-induced obese, insulin resistant rats (DIO=diet supplemented with sucrose and condensed milk) were compared to age-matched controls. Half the animals were treated with 10mg/kg Losartan per day for 1 week. Isolated hearts were perfused with or without 0.03 μIU/mL insulin for 15 min. Blood glucose, bodyweight, intraperitoneal fat and plasma insulin and Ang II were recorded. Proteins of interest and their phosphorylation were determined by Western blotting. NO production was flow cytometrically analyzed. ANOVA followed by the Bonferroni correction was used with a p< 0.05 considered significant. Results: DIO animals had significant elevated bodyweight, blood glucose, plasma insulin and Ang II levels. Our data showed that the hearts from the DIO animals are insulin resistant, ultimately reflected by the attenuated activation of the key proteins (IRS-1, PKB/Akt and eNOS) involved in insulin signalling as well as NO production. AT1 receptor antagonism improved NO production in isolated adult ventricular myocytes from DIO animals while concurrently enhancing expression of eNOS, PKB/Akt and p38 MAPK. In contrast, NO production as well as expression of eNOS and PKB/Akt was attenuated in control animals after Losartan treatment. Conclusion: These results suggested that Ang II via AT1 or AT2 receptors, modulates protein expression of both PKB/Akt and eNOS. This encouraged us to investigate the involvement of AT2 receptors in the observed changes. To investigate this we needed to establish a culture of neonatal rat cardiac myocytes treated with raised fatty acids and Ang II. If similar changes were induced as observed in the hearts of DIO animals, the involvement of the AT1 and AT2 receptors could be investigated using specific antagonists against these receptors. Primary cultured ventricular myocytes were isolated from 1-3 day old Wistar rat pups. They were cultured for 48 hours before the addition of palmitate and oleate at a concentration of 0.25 mM each and were treated with or without the fatty acids for a period of 4 days. After 18 hours of serum starvation, cells were stimulated with or without 10 nM insulin for 15 minutes. The effect of fatty acid treatment on cell viability and glucose uptake were assessed by trypan blue and propidium iodide staining and 2-deoxy-D-3[H] glucose uptake respectively. Protein levels and phosphorylation of key proteins (PKB/Akt, PTEN and p38 MAPK) in insulin signalling was determined by Western blotting. 0.25 mM Fatty acids did not result in the loss of cell viability. Contrary to expectation, fatty acid treatment led to enhanced basal glucose uptake but lower Glut 1 protein expression. Basal protein expression of PPARα was, however, upregulated as was the expression of the phosphatase, PTEN. The latter could explain the lower PKB/Akt phosphorylation also documented. From these results we conclude that neonatal cardiac myocytes, cultured in the presence of elevated fatty acids, did not respond in a similar manner as the intact hearts of our animals and further modifications of the system might be needed before it can be utilized as initially planned.
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    A pathologic role for angiotensin II and endothelin-1 in cardiac remodelling and ischaemia and reperfusion injury in a rat model of the metabolic syndrome
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2006-03) Smith, Wayne; Du Toit, E. F.; Moolman, J. A.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Health Sciences. Dept. of Biomedical Sciences. Medical Physiology.
    Introduction: Obesity, which is implicated in the development of the metabolic syndrome (MS) is reaching epidemic proportions worldwide. MS significantly increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, which includes coronary artery disease. The current absence of animal models of diet induced obesity and the MS makes the investigation of the cardiovascular consequences of MS virtually impossible. As a result the effects of the MS on cardiac function, morphology and susceptibility to ischaemia are not well understood. Aims: We set out to: 1) develop and characterize a rodent model of dietinduced obesity and the MS, 2) investigate the susceptibility of hearts from these animals to ischaemia/reperfusion induced injury and, 3) determine whether angiotensin II (Ang II) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) plays a role in cardiac remodelling and/or the severity of ischaemia and reperfusion injury in this model. Methods: Male Wistar rats were fed a standard rat chow diet or cafeteria diet (CD) for 16 weeks. After the feeding period rats were sacrificed and blood and myocardial tissue samples were collected to document biochemical changes in these animals. Hearts were perfused on the isolated working rat heart perfusion apparatus to assess myocardial mechanical function before and after ischaemia. In a separate series of experiments, hearts underwent coronary artery ligation to determine the incidence and duration of ventricular arrhythmias during ischaemia and reperfusion, using electrocardiography. To assess a possible link between myocardial remodelling and ischaemia/reperfusion injury and myocardial Ang II and ET-1 content, we also measured these peptides under basal conditions and during ischaemia. Two-dimensional targeted Mmode echocardiography was used to assess in vivo myocardial mechanical function in control and obese rats. Results: After 16 weeks on the CD, obese rats satisfied the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for the MS by having visceral obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia and an elevated systolic blood pressure, compared to control rats. Circulating Ang II levels, but not ET-1 levels, were elevated in CD fed rats. Obese rats had cardiac hypertrophy and ex vivo basal myocardial mechanical function was depressed in the CD fed rat hearts compared to control rat hearts. CD fed rat hearts had poorer aortic output (AO) recoveries compared to hearts from control rats. These hearts also had a higher incidence and duration of reperfusion arrhythmias. No such functional differences were seen in the in vivo experiments. No differences in basal or ischaemic myocardial Ang II and ET-1 levels were seen in either group. Conclusion: We have developed and characterized a model of diet-induced obesity and the MS. Obesity is associated with cardiac hypertrophy and an increased myocardial susceptibility to ischaemia and reperfusion injury in our model. The hearts from obese rats were also more prone to reperfusion ventricular arrhythmias. As myocardial function was only poorer in the ex vivo obese animal experiments, our data suggests that the obesity associated changes in function observed in the ex vivo studies may be related to the absence of circulating substrates or factors, which are essential for their normal mechanical function.