Selective attenuation of neuropeptide-Y-mediated contractile responses in blood vessels from patients with diabetes mellitus.

Vascular smooth muscle contractile responses to neuropeptide Y, alpha,beta-methyleneATP and noradrenaline were studied in circular segments of isolated vessels with intact endothelium in vitro from 12 patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 (NIDDM) and 12 control subjects. The dilatory effect of acetylcholine was used to test the function of the endothelium. Subcutaneous arteries and veins (diameter 0.1-1.1 mm) were obtained during surgery. There was no difference in contractile responses to noradrenaline or alpha,beta-methyleneATP between diabetic and control vessels. The contractile response to neuropeptide Y, however, was markedly reduced in the diabetic group. The maximal contractile effect (46.0 +/- 14.0%, p < 0.05) but not the sensitivity to neuropeptide Y was significantly less in diabetic veins compared to control (107.5 +/- 19.6%). Thus, the attenuation of neuropeptide Y responses was present in humans as previously observed in alloxan-induced diabetes mellitus in rabbits. There was no difference in the dilator effect of acetylcholine between the diabetic and the control group in any of the vessel types, indicating that the difference in vascular reactivity to neuropeptide Y was not endothelium-dependent. In conclusion, the present study has shown that the postjunctional effects of neuropeptide Y, a co-transmitter of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system, is selectively attenuated in diabetes mellitus.