Effects of captopril on urinary excretion of albumin and prostaglandins in patients with diabetic nephropathy.

Recently the beneficial effects of captopril (angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor) on diabetic nephropathy, especially proteinuria, have been reported by some investigators. The mechanism whereby proteinuria is reduced, however, have not been clarified yet. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of captopril on urinary albumin excretion in relation to urinary prostaglandins (PGs) excretion in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Captopril (37.5 mg/day) was orally administered to 13 diabetic patients for an eight-week period. A single administration of captopril (12.5 mg) was performed in the same patients. The spot urine samples were collected in the early morning and 2 hr after the single administration of captopril. The albumin index (mg/gram-creatinine) was markedly decreased in eight patients (Group A) within four weeks, but no decrease was found in five patients (Group B). Furthermore, in Group A, by the single administration of captopril urinary excretions of 6-keto-PCF1 alpha (a stable metabolite of PGI2) and PGE2 were significantly (p less than 0.05) increased while urinary TXB2 (a stable metabolite of TXA2) excretion did not change significantly. The urinary 6-keto-PGF1 alpha/TXB2 ratio, which is significantly (p less than 0.05) low in diabetic patients was significantly (p less than 0.01) increased up to the normal value in Group A. In Group B, however, there were no significant changes in urinary PGs excretion. These results suggest that captopril enhances the production of intrarenal vasodilatory PGs such as PGI2 and PGE2, which may be deeply involved in the reduction of intraglomerular capillary pressure and urinary protein excretion in diabetic patients.