Endothelial dysfunction in the perfused kidney from the streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat.

The vasodilator effects of acetylcholine were examined in methoxamine-preconstricted perfused kidneys taken from rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes. Acetylcholine-dependent vasodilatation was significantly weaker in STZ-induced diabetic rats than in age-matched controls, and it was completely abolished by treatment with 60 mM K+ plus NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) plus methylene blue in the control rats and was significantly but not completely inhibited by these treatment in the diabetic rats. Although acetylcholine-induced vasodilation was not affected by indomethacin in control rats, it was attenuated by indomethacin in the diabetic rats. Arachidonic acid-induced vasoconstriction was slightly but significantly increased in the diabetic rats. Acetylcholine increased significantly the level of 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha in the effluent from perfused kidneys from diabetic rats. These results suggest that the endothelium-dependent vasodilatation induced by acetylcholine in the renal vascular bed of age-matched control rats is due to the release of nitric oxide (NO) and endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF), whereas the vasodilatation induced by acetylcholine in the STZ-diabetic kidney also involves prostaglandin I2 as well as NO and EDHF.