Telmisartan, a partial agonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, improves impairment of spatial memory and hippocampal apoptosis in rats treated with repeated cerebral ischemia.

Telmisartan, an angiotensin type 1 receptor blocker (ARB), is used for hypertension to control blood pressure and has been shown to have a partial agonistic effect on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma). Recently, the ligand of PPARgamma has been implicated in cerebroprotection due to its anti-inflammatory effect. In this study, we investigated whether telmisartan has a cerebroprotective effect on memory impairment and neuronal cell death induced by repeated cerebral ischemia. Repeated cerebral ischemia (RI: 10 min x 2) significantly induced impairment of spatial memory and hippocampal apoptosis in rats. Fourteen-day pre- and post-ischemic administration of telmisartan (0.3, 1, 3mg/kg/day, p.o.) increased the number of correct choices and reduced the number of errors made in the eight-arm radial maze task in a dose-dependent manner in RI treated rats. TUNEL-positive cells in the hippocampus CA1 areas were also reduced following 14-day administration of telmisartan (3mg/kg/day, p.o.). Seven-day post-ischemic administration of telmisartan improved spatial memory and reduced TUNEL-positive cells while 7-day pre-ischemic administration of telmisartan did not. These effects of telmisartan were inhibited by the PPARgamma antagonist, GW9662. On further experiment, 7-day post-ischemic administration of telmisartan reduced the expression of caspase-3 in the hippocampus, and this effect was also inhibited by GW9662. These results suggest that telmisartan improves memory impairment and reduces neuronal apoptosis via a PPARgamma-dependent caspase-3 inhibiting mechanism. Telmisartan, which has the unique character of having both ARB and PPARgamma agonistic effect, will be useful for preventing memory impairment after cerebrovascular disease.