Upregulation of sestrin-2 expression protects against endothelial toxicity of angiotensin II

Sestrin-2 (SESN2) is involved in the cellular response to different stress conditions. However, the function of SESN2 in the cardiovascular system remains unknown. In the present study, we tested whether SESN2 has a beneficial effect on vascular endothelial damage induced by angiotensin II (AngII). Firstly, we found that AngII induces expression of SESN2 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in a time-dependent and dose-dependent manner. We also found that knockdown of SESN2 using small RNA interference promotes cellular toxicity of AngII, as well as a reduction in cell viability, exacerbation of oxidative stress, and stimulation of apoptosis. In addition, our results show that the c-Jun NH (2)-terminal kinase (JNK)/c-Jun pathway is activated by AngII. Inhibiting the activity of the JNK pathway abolishes the increase in SESN2 induced by AngII. Importantly, overexpression of c-Jun promotes luciferase activity of the SESN2 promoter. These findings suggest that the inductive effect of SESN2 is mediated by the JNK/c-Jun pathway. Our results indicate that the induction of SESN2 acts as a compensatory response to AngII for survival, implying that stimulating expression of SESN2 might be an effective pharmacological target for the treatment of AngII-associated cardiovascular diseases.