title: Angiopoietin-1 protects the endothelial cells against advanced glycation end product injury by strengthening cell junctions and inhibiting cell apoptosis.
abstract: Endothelial dysfunction is a major characteristic of diabetic vasculopathy. Protection of the vascular endothelium is an essential aspect of preventing and treating diabetic vascular complications. Although Angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) is an important endothelial-specific protective factor, whether Ang-1 protects vascular cells undergoing advanced glycation end product (AGE) injury has not been investigated. The aim of the present study was to determine the potential effects of Ang-1 on endothelial cells after exposure to AGE. We show here that Ang-1 prevented AGE-induced vascular leakage by enhancing the adherens junctions between endothelial cells, and this process was mediated by the phosphorylation and membrane localization of VE-cadherin. Furthermore, Ang-1 also protected endothelial cells from AGE-induced death by regulating phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt-dependent Bad phosphorylation. Our findings suggest that the novel protective mechanisms of Ang-1 on endothelium are achieved by strengthening endothelial cell junctions and reducing endothelial cell death after AGE injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, China.
authors.forename: Jingling
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.forename: Jinming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Lijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Julin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Xusheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yingbin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Shaohai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qi
mesh_terms: D042683:Angiopoietin-1 / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002199:Capillary Permeability / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002460:Cell Line; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D007365:Intercellular Junctions / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D042683:Angiopoietin-1; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced