title: Effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition on leptin and adiponectin levels in essential hypertension.
abstract: Activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and abnormal adipokine levels are biological alterations that affect blood pressure regulation and interact to link hypertension, obesity and metabolic diseases. While imbalanced levels of hormones produced by adipocytes including hypo-adiponectinaemia and hyperleptinaemia were reported in hypertension, little is known about how antihypertensive therapy affects these alterations. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of enalapril on plasma adiponectin and leptin levels in hypertensive individuals. Thirty-seven untreated hypertensive patients were prospectively treated with enalapril for 8 weeks. Blood samples were collected at baseline and after the treatment with enalapril. Plasma adiponectin and leptin levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay. We found significant increases in adiponectin levels after enalapril treatment (5.4 ± 3.7 versus 6.0 ± 4.5 μg/mL, mean ± S.D., p = 0.04). Conversely, leptin levels were unchanged (18.0 ± 14.7 versus 18.4 ± 14.8 ng/mL, mean ± S.D., p = 0.31). Multiple linear regression revealed that baseline leptin is a significant predictor of systolic blood pressure reduction (β=0.269, p = 0.01) in hypertensive individuals treated with enalapril. While enalapril increases adiponectin levels in hypertensive individuals, baseline leptin levels predict blood pressure reduction in response to this therapy. These findings support the idea of an important relationship between RAAS and adipose tissue in hypertension and suggest that enalapril improves the adipokine profile, possibly allowing beneficial effects to overweight or obese hypertensive individuals.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fontana
authors.forename: Ana Paula Cabral
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: de Faria
authors.forename: Gustavo Henrique
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Oliveira-Paula
authors.forename: Pamela Souza
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Celso
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Biagi
authors.forename: Jose Eduardo
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Tanus-Santos
authors.forename: Heitor
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moreno
mesh_terms: D052242:Adiponectin / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004656:Enalapril / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000075222:Essential Hypertension; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D052242:Adiponectin; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D020738:Leptin; D004656:Enalapril