Diabetes-induced stimulation of the renin-angiotensin system in the rat brain cortex
Cerebrovascular disease is a threat to people with diabetes and hypertension. Diabetes can damage the
brain by stimulating the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), leading to neurological deficits and brain
strokes. Diabetes-induced components of the RAS, including angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE),
angiotensin-II (Ang-II), and angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1R), have been linked to various neurological
disorders in the brain. In this study, we investigated how diabetes and high blood pressure affected the
regulation of these major RAS components in the frontal cortex of the rat brain. We dissected, homogenized, and processed the brain cortex tissues of control, streptozotocin-induced diabetic, spontaneously
hypertensive (SHR), and streptozotocin-induced SHR rats for biochemical and Western blot analyses. We
found that systolic blood pressure was elevated in SHR rats, but there was no significant difference
between SHR and diabetic-SHR rats. In contrast to SHR rats, the heartbeat of diabetic SHR rats was
low. Western blot analysis showed that the frontal cortexes of the brain expressed angiotensinogen,
AT1R, and MAS receptor. There were no significant differences in angiotensinogen levels across the rat
groups. However, the AT1R level was increased in diabetic and hypertensive rats compared to controls,
whereas the MAS receptor was downregulated (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that RAS overactivation
caused by diabetes may have negative consequences for the brain’s cortex, leading to neurodegeneration
and cognitive impairment
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