Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase and aggregation in platelets from diabetic rats.

Platelet aggregation and cyclic nucleotide (cNCL) phosphodiesterase (PDE) have been studied in a new strain of insulin-dependent spontaneously diabetic rat (SDR). The rate of aggregation of washed platelets induced by ADP or ionophore A23187 was decreased in SDR as compared to asymptomatic littermates. The activity of soluble cGMP-PDE was increased in SDR, while no significant difference was observed between SDR and control in soluble and particulate cAMP-PDE activities nor in particulates cGMP-PDE activity. Furthermore, a kinetic study of soluble cGMP-PDE in platelets demonstrated that the apparent Km was lower while the Vmax was higher in SDR. Increases were also observed in the activities of particulate cAMP-PDE and cGMP-PDE at low and high substrate concentrations in liver and heart of SDR. These anomalies of platelet aggregation and cNCL-PDE in SDR were partially correctable by insulin. For comparison, a similar study was performed in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (STZ). In contrast to SDR, the rate of platelet aggregation induced by ADP was increased in STZ, and the activity of soluble cGMP-PDE in platelets was decreased in STZ. A similar decrease in the activities of cAMP-PDE in liver was also observed in STZ. This study confirms observations concerning the decrease of cGMP-PDE in tissues of STZ diabetic rats. However, since opposite anomalies in PDE activity as well as a platelet function were observed in another model of diabetes (SDR), the significance of these anomalies in the pathophysiology of diabetes requires further investigation.