Effects of High-Salt Intake on Glucose Metabolism, Liver Function, and the Microbiome in Rats: Influence of ACE Inhibitors and Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers.
Xiaoli Zhang, Mohamed M S Gaballa, Ahmed A Hasan, Yvonne Liu, Johann-Georg Hocher, Xin Chen, Liping Liu, Jian Li, Dominik Wigger, Christoph Reichetzeder, Saban Elitok, Burkhard Kleuser, Bernhard K Krämer, Berthold Hocher
{"title":"Effects of High-Salt Intake on Glucose Metabolism, Liver Function, and the Microbiome in Rats: Influence of ACE Inhibitors and Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers.","authors":"Xiaoli Zhang, Mohamed M S Gaballa, Ahmed A Hasan, Yvonne Liu, Johann-Georg Hocher, Xin Chen, Liping Liu, Jian Li, Dominik Wigger, Christoph Reichetzeder, Saban Elitok, Burkhard Kleuser, Bernhard K Krämer, Berthold Hocher","doi":"10.1152/ajpcell.01036.2024","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Abstract</b> <b>Background:</b> High-salt diets (HSD) are known to impact blood pressure and cardiovascular health, but their effects on glucose metabolism, liver function, and gut microbiota remain poorly understood. This study investigates how long-term HSD affects these physiological processes and evaluates the potential therapeutic effects of ACE inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs). <b>Methods:</b> Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a normal salt diet (0.3% NaCl), a moderate salt diet (2% NaCl), or a high-salt diet (8% NaCl) for 12 weeks. Two subgroups in the HSD condition received telmisartan or enalapril. We assessed blood pressure, glucose homeostasis, liver inflammation, pancreatic function, and gut microbiota composition. <b>Results:</b> HSD rats exhibited significantly higher blood pressure (130 ± 2 mmHg in ND vs. 144 ± 4 mmHg in HSD; p < 0.01), reduced fasting insulin (1.33 ± 0.14 ng/mL in ND vs. 0.60 ± 0.05 ng/mL in HSD; p < 0.01), and gut microbiota dysbiosis, with a 71% reduction in Ruminococcus species (p = 0.018). Liver inflammation, indicated by an increase in CD68+ macrophages, was also observed in the HSD group. Telmisartan treatment significantly reduced liver inflammation but did not fully restore metabolic homeostasis. <b>Conclusion:</b> HSD disrupts multiple physiological systems, including glucose metabolism and liver function, partly through gut microbiota alterations. ACEIs and ARBs provided partial protection, highlighting the need for multi-targeted interventions to mitigate high-salt diet effects.</p>","PeriodicalId":7585,"journal":{"name":"American journal of physiology. Cell physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American journal of physiology. Cell physiology","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpcell.01036.2024","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CELL BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
AbstractBackground: High-salt diets (HSD) are known to impact blood pressure and cardiovascular health, but their effects on glucose metabolism, liver function, and gut microbiota remain poorly understood. This study investigates how long-term HSD affects these physiological processes and evaluates the potential therapeutic effects of ACE inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs). Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a normal salt diet (0.3% NaCl), a moderate salt diet (2% NaCl), or a high-salt diet (8% NaCl) for 12 weeks. Two subgroups in the HSD condition received telmisartan or enalapril. We assessed blood pressure, glucose homeostasis, liver inflammation, pancreatic function, and gut microbiota composition. Results: HSD rats exhibited significantly higher blood pressure (130 ± 2 mmHg in ND vs. 144 ± 4 mmHg in HSD; p < 0.01), reduced fasting insulin (1.33 ± 0.14 ng/mL in ND vs. 0.60 ± 0.05 ng/mL in HSD; p < 0.01), and gut microbiota dysbiosis, with a 71% reduction in Ruminococcus species (p = 0.018). Liver inflammation, indicated by an increase in CD68+ macrophages, was also observed in the HSD group. Telmisartan treatment significantly reduced liver inflammation but did not fully restore metabolic homeostasis. Conclusion: HSD disrupts multiple physiological systems, including glucose metabolism and liver function, partly through gut microbiota alterations. ACEIs and ARBs provided partial protection, highlighting the need for multi-targeted interventions to mitigate high-salt diet effects.
期刊介绍:
The American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology is dedicated to innovative approaches to the study of cell and molecular physiology. Contributions that use cellular and molecular approaches to shed light on mechanisms of physiological control at higher levels of organization also appear regularly. Manuscripts dealing with the structure and function of cell membranes, contractile systems, cellular organelles, and membrane channels, transporters, and pumps are encouraged. Studies dealing with integrated regulation of cellular function, including mechanisms of signal transduction, development, gene expression, cell-to-cell interactions, and the cell physiology of pathophysiological states, are also eagerly sought. Interdisciplinary studies that apply the approaches of biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, morphology, and immunology to the determination of new principles in cell physiology are especially welcome.