Antioxidant effect of angiotensin (1-7) in the protection of pancreatic ß cell function

Zhang, Fen; Liu, Chang; Wang, Lei; Cao, Xi; Wang, Ying Ying; Yang, Jin Kui

In 2006, it was demonstrated that patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) were more inclined to exhibit higher blood glucose (12) , and this may be partly due to the fact that ACE2 is a functional receptor for the SARS coronavirus (13) . Thus we hypothesized that the ACE2-Ang (1-7)-Mas axis has a protective effect on pancreatic β cell function. Our previous study demonstrated for the first time that loss of ACE2 led to impaired glucose homeostasis in mice. In addition, ACE2 knockout (ACE2-/y) mice exhibit progressive impairments in glucose tolerance and reduced first-phase insulin secretion (14) . The present study aimed to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms of these effects. Accordingly, ACE2 gene therapy improved glycemic control in diabetic mice via Ang (1-7) (15). Ang (1-7) is hypothesized to exhibit antioxidant effects in diabetic nephropathy, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and in the brain (16) (17) (18) (19) . These data confirm the protective role of the ACE2-Ang (1-7)-Mas axis in the pancreas and establish a novel target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.