Abstract

There is a growing body of evidence that the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Indeed, large clinical trials have demonstrated substantial benefit of the blockade of this system for cardiovascular-organ protection. Although several types of angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor blockers (ARBs) are commercially available for the treatment of patients with hypertension, we have recently found that telmisartan (Micardis) could have the strongest binding affinity to AT1 receptor. Telmisartan will be a promising cardiometabolic sartan due to its unique peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ)-inducing properties as well. In this review, we focused on telmisartan, and discussed its potential therapeutic implications in cardiometabolic disorders.

Keywords: AGEs, diabetes, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, PPAR-γ, RAGE, RAS