Effect of losartan on expression of human endothelial vascular growth factor mRNA of cultured human mesangial cells in high glucose

Objective: To investigate the effect of Losartan on the production of reactive oxygen species(ROS) and the expression of endothelial vascular growth factor(VEGF) in human mesangial cells cultured in high glucose. Methods:Human mesangial cells were cultured in high glucose with or without Losartan, the activities of SOD and CAT, the level of MDA in the supernatant were measured by spectrophotometry and the expression of VEGF mRNA in the cells were measured by RT-PCR. Results:Compared with the control group, the activities of SOD and CAT were markedly lower, while the level of MDA was greatly higher in the high glucose group. High glucose stimulated the expression of VEGF mRNA. Compared with the high glucose group, high glucose with Losartan heightened the activities of SOD and CAT, declined the level of MDA, and down-regulated the expression of VEGF mRNA. Conclusion:Losartan might inhibit the production of ROS and down-regulate the expression of VEGF mRNA induced by high glucose. Thus the celluar permeability was suppressed, and the proteinuria was reduced. This maybe another mechanism which protects renal function from diabetic nephropathy .