Mechanisms underlying the chronic pravastatin treatment-induced improvement in the impaired endothelium-dependent aortic relaxation seen in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

ABSTRACT: 1. We investigated the effects of chronic pravastatin treatment on the impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation seen in aortae from established streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Starting at 6 weeks of diabetes, pravastatin (10 mg kg(-1)) was administered to STZ-induced diabetic rats for 4 weeks. 2. The increased total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels seen in STZ-induced diabetic rats were not restored to normal by pravastatin. Aortae from pravastatin-treated diabetic rats did not show an impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation to acetylcholine. The expression of the mRNA for endothelial nitric oxide synthase was unaffected by diabetes or pravastatin. 3. The enhanced level of malondialdehyde (MDA)-modified LDL seen in STZ-induced diabetic rats wa

SUBMITTER: Kobayashi T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1572325 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature