Recovery of microvascular responses during streptozotocin-induced diabetes

Arteriolar changes in nitric oxide activity and sensitivity during the course of streptozotocin-induced diabetes

Nitric oxide (NO) may play an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic microangiopathy. However, arteriolar changes in NO activity and sensitivity to NO may be dependent on both the type of arteriole and the duration of diabetes. Therefore, we assessed, in the in situ spinotrapezius muscle preparation of streptozotocin-diabetic rats and of controls, inside diameters of A2-A4 arterioles and the reactivity to topically applied acetylcholine and nitroprusside, before and after N(G)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) at 2, 4, 6 and 12 weeks of diabetes. In A2 arterioles, basal diameters and the contribution of NO to basal diameter were not affected during the course of streptozotocin-induced diabetes. However, the maximal response to acetylcholine in these arterioles was attenuated after 2 until 4 weeks, and from 4 weeks on a sustained decrease in reactivity to sodium nitroprusside was observed. In A3 arterioles, both the basal diameter and the contribution of NO to basal diameter were decreased after 2 weeks and increased after 6 weeks, while the response to sodium nitroprusside was unaffected. In A4 arterioles, a significant increase in basal diameter was observed after 6 weeks only. Thus, this study shows that streptozotocin-induced diabetes causes microvascular changes in NO activity and sensitivity that depend on the type of arteriole. For each order of arteriole, these changes show a specific pattern during the course of diabetes.

NO- and non-NO-, non-prostanoid-dependent vasodilatation in rat sciatic nerve during maturation and developing experimental diabetic neuropathy

This study examined NO- and non-NO-, non-prostanoid-dependent pathways of agonist-induced vasodilatation in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats and their age-matched controls at 1-2, 8-10 and 18-20 weeks after induction of diabetes. Using laser Doppler flowmetry, vasodilatory responses to acetylcholine (ACh; 0.1 mM) and morpholino-sydnonimine (SIN-1) were determined in the presence of Ringer solution, during inhibition of NO synthase (NOS) and cyclo-oxygenase (COX) with N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA; 1 mM) + indomethacin (10(-5) M), and during inhibition of K(+) channels, NOS and COX with tetraethylammonium (TEA; 10 mM) + L-NNA + indomethacin. Basal NOS activity and nerve conduction velocity were also determined. In age-matched controls, SIN-1-induced vasodilatation in the presence of TEA + L-NNA + indomethacin, basal NOS activity and the initial vasodilatory response to ACh during NOS and COX inhibition all decreased with maturation. In STZ-induced diabetics, SIN-1-induced vasodilatation in the presence of TEA + L-NNA + indomethacin was impaired immediately after induction of diabetes, but not at 18-20 weeks. NOS activity in STZ-induced diabetics displayed a transient 2-fold increase at 8-10 weeks, decreasing to age-matched control levels at 18-20 weeks. At 18-20 weeks of STZ-induced diabetes, ACh-induced vasodilatation during NOS and COX inhibition was prolonged due to increased K(+) channel activity and experimental diabetic sensory neuropathy (EDN) had developed. Thus, in sciatic nerve microcirculation of STZ-induced diabetic rats: (1) diabetic impairment of vasodilatation in response to exogenous NO was transient; (2) non-NO-, non-prostanoid-dependent vasodilatation and K(+) channel activity were augmented in STZ-induced diabetes; and (3) alterations in NO bioactivity were not related to the development of EDN.