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Published on: February 25, 2016
Changes of macrovascular endothelial ultrastructure and gene expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in
Ying-li Lu1, Shen-jiang Hu, Zhou-jun Shen
1Department of Endocrinology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Hangzhou, China.
Insights
Diabetic rats show significant aortic endothelial damage and reduced eNOSmRNA expression, with male rats exhibiting more severe changes than females. This highlights the impact of diabetes mellitus on vascular health.
Area of Science:
- Vascular Biology
- Endocrinology
- Pathology
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of mortality in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients, linked to accelerated atherosclerosis.
- Diabetic complications significantly impact macrovascular endothelial ultrastructure and function.
- Understanding these changes is crucial for managing diabetic cardiovascular risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate alterations in macrovascular endothelial ultrastructure in diabetic rats.
- To examine the gene expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) mRNA in diabetic rat aortas.
- To compare endothelial damage and eNOSmRNA expression between male and female diabetic rats.
Main Methods:
- Utilized streptozotocin (STZ) to induce diabetes mellitus in Sprague Dawley rats (male and female).
- Examined abdominal aortic endothelial ultrastructure using scanning electron microscopy at 4 and 10 weeks post-STZ injection.
- Assessed eNOSmRNA expression via semi-quantitative RT-PCR in aortic tissue.
Main Results:
- Diabetic rat aortas showed increased debris and coarse, wrinkled endothelial surfaces compared to controls.
- Endothelial lesions were more pronounced and appeared earlier (4 weeks) in male diabetic rats than in females (10 weeks).
- Significantly lower eNOSmRNA expression (P < 0.01) was observed in diabetic rats (both sexes) at both time points.
Conclusions:
- Diabetes mellitus induces significant injury to aortic endothelial ultrastructure in rats.
- Male diabetic rats exhibit more severe endothelial abnormalities than female diabetic rats.
- Reduced eNOSmRNA expression is a key molecular change in the aortas of diabetic rats.
Background:
The most intimidatory pathological changes in patients with DM are cardiovascular illnesses, which are the major causes of death in diabetic patients and are far more prevalent than in nondiabetics because of accelerated atherosclerosis. In this study, we tried to clarify the changes in macrovascular endothelial ultrastructure and in the gene expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)mRNA in diabetic rats.
Methods:
The study was conducted on 52 of 10-week old Sprague Dawley (SD) rats with body weight of (320 +/- 42) g. SD rats were divided into: experimental group treated with a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 60 mg/kg), (male, n = 20, diabetes mellitus (DMM)); female, n = 12, diabetes mellitus female (DMF)) and control group (male, n = 10, diabetes mellitus male control (DMMC); female, n = 10, diabetes mellitus female control (DMFC)). Four weeks after treatment, half of the rats were sacrificed; the remainders were sacrificed ten weeks after treatment. One part of the abdominal aortic sample was stored under glutaraldehyde (volume fraction psiB = 2.5%). After the process of chemical fixation, chemical dehydration, drying and conductivity enhancement, all samples were observed and photographed using scanning electron microscopy (Leica-Stereoscan 260, England). The other part of the abdominal aortic sample was treated with liquid nitrogen and the expression of eNOSmRNA was assessed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR.
Results:
The aortic lumen of both experimental groups adsorbed much more debris than that of either control group. The endothelial surfaces of diabetic rats were coarse, wrinkled and protuberant like fingers or villi. The vascular endothelial lesions of diabetic male rats were very distinct after 4 weeks, and as obvious as those at 10 weeks. The vascular endothelial lesions of diabetic female rats were not severe at 4 weeks and only became marked after 10 weeks. In both males and females, the abdominal aortic eNOSmRNA content of 4 weeks and 10 weeks diabetic rats was very significantly lower (P < 0.01) than that of controls.
Conclusions:
Aortic endothelial ultrastructure in DM rats is injured compared with controls. Abnormal changes of aortic endothelia in male DM rats are more obvious than those in females. Expression of abdominal aortic eNOSmRNA content of DM rats is significantly lower than that of controls.
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