Sorbinil suppresses glomerular prostaglandin production in the streptozotocin diabetic rat

Previous studies have suggested a link between hyperfiltration and enhanced polyol pathway activity in the streptozotocin diabetic rat. In the present study we examined the relationship between glomerular sorbitol content, a measure of polyol pathway activity and glomerular filtration rate (GFR), as a function of plasma glucose and time after induction of diabetes. GFR is increased by 1 to 2 weeks in the untreated streptozotocin diabetic rat but falls to values equal to or below control by 2 months. Treatment of diabetic rats with a low dose of insulin to achieve moderate hyperglycemia results in the maintenance of elevated GFR for 2 months. Glomerular sorbitol content in the 1- to 2-week diabetic rats was not significantly different from values in glomeruli from control rats at 1 to 2 weeks but was 11-fold higher than control by 2 months in the untreated diabetic rat. Treatment of diabetic rats with insulin to achieve moderate hyperglycemia resulted in values for glomerular sorbitol content that were not different from control. Thus, elevated GFR was not associated with elevated glomerular sorbitol content in the 1- to 2-week diabetic rat and was dissociated from elevated glomerular sorbitol content in the 2-month diabetic rat. Treatment of 1- to 2-week diabetic rats with sorbinil prevented the rise in GFR observed at this time despite the fact that sorbitol content of glomeruli was not elevated. These results suggested that sorbinil was reducing GFR in the diabetic rat by a mechanism other than aldose-reductase inhibition. The synthesis of vasodilatory prostaglandins by isolated glomeruli and the activity of phospholipase A2 in the particulate cell fraction of glomerular homogenates is higher in 1- to 2-week diabetic rats compared with controls, a finding that may contribute to the elevated GFR in these rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)