Abstract
Jatrorrhizine (JAT) is one of the major bioactive protoberberine alkaloids found in rhizoma coptidis, which has hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic potential. This study aimed to evaluate the vasoprotective effects of JAT in diabetes and obesity and the underlying mechanism involved. Mouse aortas, carotid arteries and human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with risk factors (high glucose or tunicamycin) with and without JAT ex vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, aortas were obtained from mice with chronic treatment: (1) control; (2) diet-induced obese (DIO) mice fed a high-fat diet (45% kcal% fat) for 15 weeks; and (3) DIO mice orally administered JAT at 50 mg/kg/day for the last 5 weeks. High glucose or endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress inducer tunicamycin impaired acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent relaxations (EDRs) in mouse aortas, induced oxidative stress in carotid arteries and HUVECs, downregulated phosphorylations of Akt at Ser473 and eNOS at Ser1177 and enhanced ER stress in mouse aortas and HUVECs, and these impairments were reversed by cotreatment with JAT. JAT increased NO release in high-glucose-treated mouse aortas and HUVECs. In addition, chronic JAT treatment restored endothelial function with EDRs comparable to the control, increased Akt/eNOS phosphorylation, and attenuated ER stress and oxidative stress in aortas from DIO mice. Blood pressure, glucose sensitivity, fatty liver and its morphological change, as well as plasma levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and plasma lipid profile, were also normalized by JAT treatment. Collectively, our data may be the first to reveal the vasoprotective effect of JAT that ameliorates endothelial dysfunction in diabetes and obesity through enhancement of the Akt/eNOS pathway and NO bioavailability, as well as suppression of ER stress and oxidative stress.