The Novel Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker Azilsartan Medoxomil Ameliorates Insulin Resistance Induced by Chronic Angiotensin II Treatment in Rat Skeletal Muscle.

Angiotensin receptor (type 1) blockers (ARBs) can reduce both hypertension and insulin resistance induced by local and systemic activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. The effectiveness of azilsartan medoxomil (AZIL-M), a novel imidazole-based ARB, to facilitate metabolic improvements in conditions of angiotensin II (Ang II)-associated insulin resistance is currently unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of chronic AZIL-M treatment on glucose transport activity and key insulin signaling elements in red skeletal muscle of Ang II-treated rats.

Obesity and insulin resistance induce early development of diastolic dysfunction in young female mice fed a Western diet.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), including heart failure, constitutes the main source of morbidity and mortality in men and women with diabetes. Although healthy young women are protected against CVD, postmenopausal and diabetic women lose this CVD protection. Obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes promote heart failure in females, and diastolic dysfunction is the earliest manifestation of this heart failure.

Dipeptidylpeptidase inhibition is associated with improvement in blood pressure and diastolic function in insulin-resistant male Zucker obese rats.

Diastolic dysfunction is a prognosticator for future cardiovascular events that demonstrates a strong correlation with obesity. Pharmacological inhibition of dipeptidylpeptidase-4 (DPP-4) to increase the bioavailability of glucagon-like peptide-1 is an emerging therapy for control of glycemia in type 2 diabetes patients. Accumulating evidence suggests that glucagon-like peptide-1 has insulin-independent actions in cardiovascular tissue.

Loss of Estrogen Receptor α Signaling Leads to Insulin Resistance and Obesity in Young and Adult Female Mice.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There are important sex-related differences in the prevalence of obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Indeed, premenopausal women have a lower prevalence of these conditions relative to age-matched men. Estrogen participates in the modulation of insulin sensitivity, energy balance, and body composition.

Overweight female rats selectively breed for low aerobic capacity exhibit increased myocardial fibrosis and diastolic dysfunction.

The statistical association between endurance exercise capacity and cardiovascular disease suggests that impaired aerobic metabolism underlies the cardiovascular disease risk in men and women. To explore this connection, we applied divergent artificial selection in rats to develop low-capacity runner (LCR) and high-capacity runner (HCR) rats and found that disease risks segregated strongly with low running capacity. Here, we tested if inborn low aerobic capacity promotes differential sex-related cardiovascular effects.

A putative azoreductase gene is involved in the Shewanella oneidensis response to heavy metal stress.

The Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 gene SO3585, which is annotated as a putative flavin mononucleotide-dependent azoreductase, shares 28% sequence identity with Bacillus subtilis azoreductase and Pseudomonas putida ChrR, a soluble flavoprotein exhibiting chromate reductase activity. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction demonstrated that the SO3585 gene is co-transcribed with two downstream open reading frames: SO3586 (a glyoxalase family protein) and SO3587 (a predicted membrane-associated hypothetical protein). The transcriptional start site of the so3585 transcript was localized using 5' rapid amplification of complementary DNA ends analysis.