Maslinic acid inhibits impairment of endothelial functions induced by high glucose in HAEC cells through improving insulin signaling and oxidative stress.

Impaired endothelial functions are closely associated with many chronic vascular-related diseases. Maslinic acid (MA), a natural pentacyclic triterpene compound, has received more and more attentions in recent years due to a variety of bioactivities. In the present study, we investigated the effect of MA on impaired endothelial functions in human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC) induced by high glucose treatment and discussed its possible mechanism. We showed that MA decreased the ROS level, inhibited the inflammatory cytokines expression, facilitated insulin-mediated IRS-1/PI3K/Akt/eNOS signaling and suppressed the cellular apoptosis ratio induced by high glucose. The molecular docking results showed that MA may regulate multiple targets to improve the endothelial dysfunction in HAECs exposed to high glucose. These results revealed potential application of MA in improving endothelia dysfunction.