Differences in vascular responses to vasoactive agents of basilar artery and aorta from rabbits with alloxan-induced diabetes.

Responses of the basilar artery and aorta to vasoactive agents in alloxan-induced diabetic and age-matched control rabbits were examined. There were no significant differences in the reactivity of the basilar artery to norepinephrine (NE), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), and K+ between age-matched control and diabetic rabbits. The maximal contraction of the aorta with endothelium in response to NE was significantly enhanced in the case of the aorta from diabetic rabbits. Pretreatment with 10(-6) M methylene blue or removal of the endothelium enhanced the contractile response of aorta to NE from control rabbits and, after such treatment, the concentration-response curve to NE was almost identical to that of aorta from diabetic rabbits. Basal levels of cyclic GMP but not cyclic AMP in the diabetic aorta with endothelium were significantly lower than those in the control aorta with endothelium. These results demonstrate that the cerebral artery is resistant to diabetes mellitus within 10 weeks as compared with the peripheral artery. The enhancement in the contractile response of aorta to NE in diabetic rabbits is due to the attenuation of the spontaneous release of endothelium-derived relaxing factor, through an impairment of the function of endothelial cells.