OBJECTIVE-Metabolic syndrome is characterized by the variable coexistence of obesity, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. It is well known that angiotensin (Ang) II is importantly involved in the metabolic syndrome. However, the role of the vasodilator Ang-(1-7)/Mas axis is not known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of genetic deletion of the G protein-coupled receptor, Mas, in the lipidic and glycemic metabolism in FVB/N mice. RESULTS-Despite normal body weight, Mas-knockout (Mas-KO) mice presented dyslipidemia, increased levels of insulin and leptin, and an ϳ50% increase in abdominal fat mass. In addition, Mas gene-deleted mice presented glucose intolerance and reduced insulin sensitivity as well as a decrease in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake by adipocytes and decreased GLUT4 in adipose tissue. Mas Ϫ/Ϫ presented increased muscle triglycerides, while liver triglyceride levels were normal. Expression of TGF-␤ and AGT genes was higher in Mas-KO animals in comparison with controls. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-Plasma CONCLUSIONS-These results show that

Objective-Obesity and diabetes remain among the world's most pervasive health problems. Although the importance of angiotensin II for metabolic regulation is well documented, the role of the angiotensin-(1-7)/Mas axis in this process is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of increased angiotensin-(1-7) plasma levels in lipid and glucose metabolism using transgenic rats that express an angiotensin-(1-7)-releasing fusion protein, TGR(A1-7)3292 (TGR). Methods and Results-The increased angiotensin-(1-7) levels in TGR induced enhanced glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. In addition, TGR presented decreased triglycerides and cholesterol levels, as well as a significant decrease in abdominal fat mass, despite normal food intake. These alterations were accompanied by a marked decrease of angiotensinogen expression and increased Akt in adipose tissue. Furthermore, augmented plasma levels and expression in adipose tissue was observed for adiponectin. Accordingly, angiotensin-(1-7) stimulation increased adiponectin production by primary adipocyte culture, which was blocked by the Mas antagonist A779. Circulating insulin and muscle glycogen content were not altered in TGR. Conclusion-These

Adipocyte glucose transport can be impaired by prolonged hyperglycemic conditions. However, at the whole body level, lipolysis is quantitatively a more important function of adipocytes than glucose uptake. We have therefore investigated the effect of prolonged high glucose and insulin on adipocyte lipolysis in basal conditions or with maximal concentrations of adenosine deaminase (ADA), dibutyryl cyclic-AMP (dbcAMP), or isoproterenol (ISO). Neither insulin nor glucose alone affected basal or maximally stimulated lipolysis. However, insulin plus glucose increased the rate of ADA-, dbcAMP-, and ISO-stimulated lipolysis by 40-65%, and the effect was maximal by 8 h. When insulin was kept constant, the half-maximally effective concentration (EC50) of glucose was approximately 2.5 mmol/l. We also demonstrated that the effect is not glutamine-dependent and does not induce insulin resistance of lipolysis. Because the effect of insulin and glucose was evident whether lipolysis was stimulated by ADA, dbcAMP, or ISO, we hypothesized that the expression of the rate-limiting enzyme for lipolysis, hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), was increased. Our results show that insulin plus glucose-treated cells contain approximately 40% more HSL protein than control cells, in good agreement with the increase in maximally stimulated lipolysis. We conclude that hyperglycemic-hyperinsulinemic conditions increase basal and maximal adipocyte lipolysis by a mechanism that is not glutamine-dependent and involves maintenance of cellular concentrations of HSL. The results also provide evidence that factors other than translocation of HSL to the lipid droplet are necessary to activate the enzyme.

Hancornia speciosa has a potential anti-diabetic effect through a mechanism dependent on inhibition of α-glucosidase and increase on glucose uptake. These results give support to the use on traditional medicine of this medicinal plant.