Nicotine and endothelial permeability

The effect of nicotine was studied on the permeability of the coronary endothelium of Sprague Dawley rats. Nicotine was administered in drinking water from 4 to 6 week in a dose of 5mg/kg body weight/day. Endothelial permeability was studied by intramuscular injection of Evans blue dye and was found to be increased in nicotine treated animals. The mode of penetration was seen to be through the endothelial cells to begin with and later the intercellular gaps were also involved