Purpose: Obesity is mediated by the changes in dyslipidemia, oxidative stress, and inflammation, leading to vascular endothelial dysfunction. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors prevent the development of endothelial dysfunction. However, the underlying mechanism still remains largely unclear. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), one class of non-coding small RNAs, have been shown to exert a regulatory impact on the endothelial function in obesity. This study aimed to investigate whether the elevation of GLP-1 by a DPP-4 inhibitor sitagliptin improved vascular endothelial function by modulating lncRNAs in obese mice and to clarify the underlying molecular mechanism.
Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a high-fat diet for 4 months to induce obesity and some obese mice were treated with sitagliptin for the last 1 month. Levels of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in plasma were detected by ELISA. LncRNA expression profile was analyzed via microarray. Aortic relaxations were examined by myograph. Protein expressions and phosphorylations were determined using western blot. The differentially expressed lncRNAs were validated using qRT-PCR.
Results: Obese mice exhibited increased levels of TC and LDL, decreased concentrations of HDL and GLP-1 in plasma, and impaired aortic endothelium-dependent relaxations; such effects could be reversed by sitagliptin. Moreover, the altered expression profile of lncRNAs in the obese mouse aortae could be modulated by sitagliptin. Consistent with microarray analysis, qRT-PCR also revealed that lncRNA ENSMUST00000213271 was up-regulated in obese mouse aortae and aortic endothelial cells (ECs), which could be down-regulated by sitagliptin. Creb5 silencing reduced lncRNA ENSMUST00000213271 in obese mouse ECs. Knockdown of either Creb5 or lncRNA ENSMUST00000213271 restored the activation of AMPK/eNOS in obese mouse ECs. Furthermore, sitagliptin also suppressed Creb5 and lncRNA ENSMUST00000213271 and increased the phosphorylations of AMPK and eNOS in obese mice.
Conclusion: Creb5/lncRNA ENSMUST00000213271 mediated vascular endothelial dysfunction through inhibiting AMPK/eNOS cascade in obesity. Elevation of GLP-1 by sitagliptin possibly improved endothelial function by suppressing Creb5/lncRNA ENSMUST00000213271 and subsequently restoring AMPK/eNOS activation in obese mice. This study will provide new evidence for the benefits of GLP-1 against vasculopathy in obesity.
Keywords: Cyclic AMP-responsive element-binding protein 5; Endothelial function; Glucagon-like peptide-1; Long noncoding RNA; Obesity.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.