Berberine Reshapes the Balance of the Local Renin-Angiotensin System by Modulating Autophagy under Metabolic Stress in Pancreatic Islets.

Results: Prolonged exposure to palmitate increased the expression of ACE and AngII type 1 receptor (ATR1) and decreased the ACE2 expression, which was partly offset by berberine. In ob/ob mice, berberine increased in tolerance to glucose, improved abnormal β-cell and α-cell distributions, upregulated ACE2 expression, and decreased autophagosomes and the expression of LC3 and SQSTM1/p62. Autophagosomes and expression of LC3 and SQSTM1/p62 were increased in ACE2KO mice.

Conclusions: We demonstrated that berberine may improve the pancreatic islet function by regulating local RAS-mediated autophagy under metabolic stress.