Telmisartan promotes potential glucose homeostasis in stroke-resistant spontaneously hypertensive rats via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ activation

An angiotensin 2 type 1 receptor blocker (ARB) telmisartan possesses not only an antihypertensive effect but also an anti-metabolic syndrome effect due to peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ ) activation. In the present study, we examined the effects of telmisartan on the angiotensin 2 type 1 receptor (AT1R), PPAR-γ , and insulin receptor (IR) in stroke-resistant spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR-SR), comparing them with Wistar rats. Three-months-old SHR-SR rats were divided into three treatment groups, i.e., vehicle (SHR/Ve), low-dose telmisartan (0.3 mg/kg/day, SHR/Low), and high-dose telmisartan (3 mg/kg/day, SHR/High). Compared with Wistar rats, SHR/Ve increased the staining of AT1R, PPAR-γ and IR in the cerebral cortical neurons. On the other hand, telmisartan dose-dependently suppressed the excessive expression of AT1R and IR, but enhanced PPAR-γ activation. Low-dose telmisartan showed these effects even without lowering blood pressure (BP), while high-dose telmisartan lowered BP and showed further effects. The present study suggests that even a low dose of telmisartan decreased AT1R and IR, and increased PPAR-γ in the cerebral cortex of SHR-SR without lowering BP, probably by improving glucose homeostasis. The high dose of telmisartan showed further decreases in AT1R and IR, and further PPAR-γ activation while lowering BP, suggesting an additive benefit to lowering BP, namely the improvement of glucose homeostasis.