Effects of atorvastatin and insulin in vascular dysfunction associated with type 2 diabetes.

Atorvastatin and insulin have distinct mechanisms of action to improve endothelial function. Therefore, we hypothesized that atorvastatin and insulin therapies alone or in combination could have beneficial effects on endothelium-dependent vascular reactivity, oxidative stress, inflammation and metabolic parameters in Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats, a model of type 2 diabetes fed with atherogenic diet (GKAD). In parallel with the development of diabetes and lipid profile, the generation of oxidative stress was determined by measurement of lipid peroxides and oxidized proteins and the presence of inflammation was evaluated by assessing C-reactive protein (CRP). Additionally, endothelial dependent and independent vascular sensitivity to acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside were evaluated. GKAD showed increased carbonyl stress, inflammation, fasting glycemia, dyslipidemia and endothelial dysfunction when compared to control GK rats. Noteworthy, supplementation with insulin deteriorated endothelial dysfunction while atorvastatin induced an improvement. Atorvastatin and insulin therapies in combination improved metabolic parameters, CRP levels and insulin resistance indexes and ameliorated endothelial dysfunction in GKAD rats while they were unable to reduce urinary 8-isoprostranes and plasma carbonyl compounds. The therapeutic association of atorvastatin and insulin provided a better metabolic control with a reduction in endothelial dysfunction in GKAD rats by a mechanism that involves an improvement in systemic inflammation.

Methylglyoxal chronic administration promotes diabetes-like cardiac ischaemia disease in Wistar normal rats.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The influence of lifestyle is well documented, especially the diet regime, in the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and associated cardiovascular diseases. Diabetic patients have increased risk of suffering cardiac ischemia and impaired response to such accidents. Methylglyoxal (MG) circulates at high concentration in diabetics' blood and is linked to the development of diabetes chronic complications. We propose that besides promoting the cardiovascular disease, MG may also negatively regulate the endogenous cardioprotection pathways after ischemia. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed a comparative study between three animal groups: normal Wistar (W), type 2 diabetic non-obese Goto-Kakizaki (GK) and normal rats submitted to MG chronic administration (3 months) with gradually enhanced concentration, up to 75 mg/Kg (WMG). Hearts were submitted to different experimental conditions: control, ischemia and ischemia-reperfusion. Levels of oxidative stress markers, advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) and their receptors (RAGEs) were evaluated. The serine/threonine protein kinase Akt (Akt), crucial for cardiomyocytes recovery after ischemia, and apoptosis markers were also assessed. Levels of MG, systemic and cardiac oxidative stress markers, AGEs and RAGEs were similar in GK and WMG groups. Akt protein was negatively regulated by MG, leading to impaired apoptotic markers. CONCLUSION: Chronic MG administration to normal rodents mimicked most diabetic alterations, being associated with the development of cardiovascular disease and the impairment of survival pathways. Our results demonstrate the negative effect of MG rich diet in healthy animals and suggest the potential of methylglyoxal as a therapeutic target in diabetes.

Common mechanisms of dysfunctional adipose tissue and obesity-related cancers.

The relation between cancer and metabolic disorders was recognized several decades ago, but the underlying mechanisms involved in cancer development and progression remain obscure. In the last years, many groups have been studying systemic adipose tissue markers in cancer patients. However, few consistent results were obtained. On the other hand, several studies revealed many aspects of adipose tissue physiology in obesity. Nowadays, it is recognized that excessive lipid uptake in adipocytes leads to hypertrophy and consequently to metabolic dysregulation, hypoxia, inflammation, impaired adipocytokine expression and angiogenesis, insulin resistance and macrophage recruitment. In obese patients, tumours commonly colocalize with excessive adipose tissue accumulation, and most of the features of hypertrophic adipose tissue are observed in cancer patients, namely breast and colon. This review aimed to summarize pathological adipose tissue alterations that may contribute to cancer aetiology and development.

Methylglyoxal causes structural and functional alterations in adipose tissue independently of obesity.

CONTEXT: Adipose tissue is one of the first organs to develop insulin resistance even with moderate BMI. However, the contribution of developing hyperglycaemia and concomitant methylglyoxal increment to tissue dysfunction during type 2 diabetes progression was not addressed before. METHODS: Young and aged Wistar and Goto-Kakizaki rats (non-obese model of type 2 diabetes) and a group of MG-treated W rats were used to investigate the chronic effects of hyperglycaemia and ageing and specifically MG-induced mechanisms. RESULTS: Diabetic and aged rats showed decreased adipose tissue irrigation and interstitial hypoxia. Hyperglycaemia of diabetic rats leaded to fibrosis and accumulation of PAS-positive components, exacerbated in aged animals, which also showed decreased hipoadiponectinemia, increased MCP-1 expression and macrophage infiltration to glycated fibrotic regions. MG leaded to increased free fatty acids, hipoadiponectinemia, decreased irrigation, hypoxia and macrophage recruitment for glycated fibrotic regions. CONCLUSIONS: MG contributes to dysfunction of adipose tissue during type 2 diabetes progression.

Antioxidant and vascular effects of gliclazide in type 2 diabetic rats fed high-fat diet.

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by oxidative stress, which in turn determines endothelial dysfunction. Gliclazide is a sulphonylurea antidiabetic drug with antioxidant effects due to its azabicyclo-octyl ring. It has been reported to potentially protect the vasculature through improvements in plasma lipid levels and platelet function. We hypothesized that gliclazide has a beneficial effect on endothelial function in Goto-Kakizaki rats (GK), an animal model of type 2 diabetes fed an atherogenic diet for 4 months. We evaluated the influence of gliclazide on both metabolic and oxidative status and NO-mediated vasodilation. GKAD rats showed increased oxidative stress and impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation. GKAD rats treated with gliclazide showed increased sensitivity to NO-mediated vasodilation, a significant decrease in fasting glycemia and insulinemia, and a significant decrease in systemic oxidative stress. In conclusion, our results suggest that gliclazide treatment improves NO-mediated vasodilation in diabetic GK rats with dyslipidemia probably due to its antioxidant effects, although we cannot rule out substantial benefits due to a reduction in fasting blood glucose. The availability of a compound that simultaneously decreases hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and inhibits oxidative stress is a promising therapeutic candidate for the prevention of vascular complications of diabetes.

Effects of alpha-lipoic acid on endothelial function in aged diabetic and high-fat fed rats.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of alpha-lipoic acid (alpha-LA) on endothelial function in diabetic and high-fat fed animal models and elucidate the potential mechanism underlying the benefits of alpha-LA. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Plasma metabolites reflecting glucose and lipid metabolism, endothelial function, urinary albumin excretion (UAE), plasma and aortic malondialdehyde (MDA) and urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were assessed in non-diabetic controls (Wistar rats), untreated Goto-Kakizaki (GK) diabetic and high-fat fed GK rats (fed with atherogenic diet only, treated with alpha-LA and treated with vehicle, for 3 months). Vascular eNOS, nitrotyrosine, carbonyl groups and superoxide anion were also assessed in the different groups. KEY RESULTS: alpha-LA and soybean oil significantly reduced both total and non-HDL serum cholesterol and triglycerides induced by atherogenic diet. MDA, carbonyl groups, vascular superoxide and 8-OHdG levels were higher in GK and high-fat fed GK groups and fully reversed with alpha-LA treatment. High-fat fed GK diabetic rats showed significantly reduced endothelial function and increased UAE, effects ameliorated with alpha-LA. This endothelial dysfunction was associated with decreased NO production, decreased expression of eNOS and increased vascular superoxide production and nitrotyrosine expression. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: alpha-LA restores endothelial function and significantly improves systemic and local oxidative stress in high-fat fed GK diabetic rats. Improved endothelial function due to alpha-LA was at least partially attributed to recoupling of eNOS and increased NO bioavailability and represents a pharmacological approach to prevent major complications associated with type 2 diabetes.

Soybean oil treatment impairs glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and changes fatty acid composition of normal and diabetic islets.

We investigated the effect of sub-chronic soybean oil (SO) treatment on the insulin secretion and fatty acid composition of islets of Langerhans obtained from Goto-Kakizaki (GK), a model of type 2 diabetes, and normal Wistar rats. We observed that soybean-treated Wistar rats present insulin resistance and defective islet insulin secretion when compared with untreated Wistar rats. The decrease in insulin secretion occurred at all concentrations of glucose and arginine tested. Furthermore we observed that soybean-treated normal islets present a significant decrease in two saturated fatty acids, myristic and heneicosanoic acids, and one monounsaturated eicosenoic acid, and the appearance of the monounsaturated erucic acid. Concerning diabetic animals, we observed that soybean-treated diabetic rats, when compared with untreated GK rats, present an increase in plasma non-fasting free fatty acids, an exacerbation of islet insulin secretion impairment in all conditions tested and a significant decrease in the monounsaturated palmitoleic acid. Altogether our results show that SO treatment results in a decrease of insulin secretion and alterations on fatty acid composition in normal and diabetic islets. Furthermore, the impairment of insulin secretion, islet erucic acid and fasting plasma insulin levels are similar in treated normal and untreated diabetic rats, suggesting that SO could have a deleterious effect on beta-cell function and insulin sensitivity.

Sources of endogenous glucose production in the Goto-Kakizaki diabetic rat.

Plasma glucose, insulin and glucose tolerance were quantified in diabetic Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats (342+/-45 g, n = 5) and compared with weight-matched non-diabetic Wistars (307+/-30 g, n = 8). Compared to Wistars, GK rats had higher fasting plasma insulin (219+/-50 versus 44+/-14 pmol/l, P<0.002) and glucose (9.2+/-2.3 versus 5.5+/-0.5 mmol/l, P<0.025). GK rats showed impaired glucose tolerance (IPGTT 2 h plasma glucose=14+/-1.5 versus 6.4+/-0.1 mmol/l, P<0.001). Endogenous glucose production (EGP) from glycogenolysis, phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and glycerol after 6 hours of fasting was quantified by a primed infusion of [U-(13)C]glucose and (2)H(2)O tracers and (2)H/(13)C NMR analysis of plasma glucose. EGP was higher in GK compared to Wistar rats (191+/-16 versus 104+/-27 mumol/kg per min, P<0.005). This was sustained by increased gluconeogenesis from PEP (85+/-12 versus 35+/-4 mumol/kg per min, P<0.02). Gluconeogenesis from glycerol was not different (20+/-3 in Wistar versus 30+/-6 mumol/kg per min for GK), and glycogenolysis fluxes were also not significantly different (76+/-23 mumol/kg per min for GK versus 52+/-19 mumol/kg per min for Wistar). The Cori cycle accounted for most of PEP gluconeogenesis in both Wistar and GK rats (85+/-15% and 77+/-10%, respectively). Therefore, increased gluconeogenesis in GK rats is largely sustained by increased Cori cycling while the maintenance of glycogenolysis indicates a failure in hepatic autoregulation of EGP.

Isoform-specific inhibition of voltage-sensitive Ca(2+) channels by protein kinase C in adrenal chromaffin cells.

Selective protein kinase C (PKC) activators and inhibitors were used to investigate the involvement of specific PKC isoforms in the modulation of voltage-sensitive Ca(2+) channels (VSCCs) in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells. Exposure to the phorbol ester phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) inhibited the Ca(2+) currents elicited by depolarizing voltage steps. This inhibition was occluded by the PKC-specific inhibitor Ro 31-8220 but remained unaffected by Gö 6976, a selective inhibitor of conventional PKC isoforms. PDBu treatment caused the translocation of PKC-alpha and -epsilon isoforms from cytosol to membranes. PKC-iota and -zeta showed no signs of translocation. It is concluded that VSCCs are specifically inhibited by the activation of PKC-epsilon in chromaffin cells. This may be relevant to the action of phospholipase-linked receptors involved in the control of Ca(2+) influx, both in catecholaminergic cells and other cell types.

Regulation of Ca2+ influx by a protein kinase C activator in chromaffin cells: differential role of P/Q- and L-type Ca2+ channels.

Phorbol esters reduce depolarization-evoked Ca2+ influx in adrenal chromaffin cells, suggesting that voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels (VSCCs) are inhibited by protein kinase C-mediated phosphorylation. We now address the possibility that L- and P/Q-type Ca2+ channel subtypes might be differentially involved in phorbol ester action. In bovine chromaffin cells, short-term (10 min) incubations with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) inhibited early high K+-evoked rises in cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and the early component of the depolarization-evoked Mn2+ quenching of fura-2 fluorescence in a dose-dependent manner (IC50: 18 and 7 nM; maximal inhibitions: 45 and 48%, respectively). The protein kinase C inhibitor staurosporine (100 nM) reverted the inhibitory action of PMA. PMA (0.1-1 microM) inhibited the early and late phases of the ionomycin (2 microM)-evoked [Ca2+]i transients by 14-23%. Omega-agatoxin IVA, a blocker of P/Q-type Ca2+ channels, inhibited high K+-evoked [Ca2+]i rises in a dose-dependent fashion (IC50 = 50 nM). In contrast, 0.1 microM omega-conotoxin GVIA, a blocker of N-type channels, was without effect. A sizeable (< 45%) component of early Ca2+ influx persisted in the combined presence of omega-agatoxin IVA (100 nM) and nitrendipine (1 microM). Simultaneous exposure to omega-agatoxin IVA and PMA inhibited both the early [Ca2+]i transients and Mn2+ quenching to a much greater extent than each drug separately. Inhibition of the [Ca2+]i transients by nitrendipine and PMA did not significantly exceed that produced by PMA alone. It is concluded that phorbol ester-mediated activation of protein kinase C inhibits preferentially L-type VSCCs over P/Q type channels in adrenal chromaffin cells. However, the possibility cannot be ruled out that dihydropyridine-resistant, non-P/Q type channels might also be negatively regulated by protein kinase C. This may represent an important pathway for the specific control of VSCCs by protein kinase C-linked receptors, not only in paraneurones but presumably also in neurones and other excitable cells.

Ocular and concomitant cutaneous sporotrichosis.

We report here the case of a 12-year-old girl with concomitant cutaneous and ocular sporotrichosis. Sporothrix schenckii was isolated from skin lesions and aqueous humour. The difficulty in the diagnosis and treatment of this form of mycosis is discussed and the data are compared with those published in the few reports available in the literature.

Differential regulation of histamine- and bradykinin-stimulated phospholipase C in adrenal chromaffin cells: evidence for involvement of different protein kinase C isoforms.

In this report we investigate the isoforms of protein kinase C (PKC) present in cultured adrenal chromaffin cells with respect to their modulation by treatment with phorbol ester and their possible differential involvement in the regulation of responses to histamine and bradykinin. The presence of individual isoforms of PKC was investigated by using eight isoform specific antisera, as a result of which PKC-alpha, epsilon, and zeta were identified. To characterize down-regulation of these enzymes, cells were incubated for 6-48 h with 1 microM phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). PKC-epsilon down-regulated more rapidly than PKC-alpha. At 12 h, PMA pretreatment, for example, PKC-epsilon was maximally down-regulated (23 +/- 4% of controls), whereas PKC-alpha was unchanged. PKC-alpha showed partial down-regulation by 24 h of PMA pretreatment. PKC-zeta did not down-regulate at any of the times tested. Translocation from cytosol to membrane in response to PMA was also more rapid for PKC-epsilon than for PKC-alpha. The accumulation of total 3H-inositol (poly) phosphates in response to bradykinin or histamine was essentially abolished by prior treatment with 10-min PMA treatment (1 microM). However, with 12-h exposure to PMA, the bradykinin response was restored to the level seen with no prior PMA exposure. The histamine response showed no recovery by 12 h of PMA, but showed partial recovery by 24 h of PMA pretreatment. These observations showed that the restoration of the response to bradykinin corresponds to the loss of PKC-epsilon, whereas the restoration of the histamine response corresponds to the loss of PKC-alpha. This picture was confirmed with further studies on cytosolic Ca2+. The results show that chromaffin cells exhibit an unusual pattern of down-regulation of PKC isoforms on prolonged exposure to PMA, and that there is a differential effect of exposure to PMA on the histamine and bradykinin responses, suggesting that different PLC-linked receptors in chromafin cells are differentially regulated by PKC isoforms.

Protein kinase C activator inhibits voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels and catecholamine secretion in adrenal chromaffin cells.

We have investigated the effects of the phorbol ester 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) on depolarization-evoked Ca2+ influx and catecholamine secretion in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells. PMA (100 nM) strongly inhibited K(+)-evoked [Ca2+]i transients and Mn2+ quenching of fura-2 fluorescence. In contrast, 4 alpha-phorbol 12,13-didecanoate, a phorbol ester inactive on protein kinase C (PKC), had no effect. Maximal PMA-mediated inhibition occurred at 5-10 min incubations and were variable from cell to cell, ranging from 25 to 65% of controls. The [Ca2+]i transients evoked by the L-type Ca2+ channel activator Bay K 8644 were strongly inhibited by 100 nM PMA. PMA (0.1-10 microM) inhibited K(+)-evoked adrenaline and noradrenaline release by 23-44%. The data indicate that phorbol ester-mediated activation of PKC inhibits voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels in chromaffin cells, leading to a prominent depression of depolarization-evoked catecholamine secretion.

A toxin fraction (FTX) from the funnel-web spider poison inhibits dihydropyridine-insensitive Ca2+ channels coupled to catecholamine release in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells.

In adrenal chromaffin cells, depolarization-evoked Ca2+ influx and catecholamine release are partially blocked by blockers of L-type voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels. We have now evaluated the sensitivity of the dihydropyridine-resistant components of Ca2+ influx and catecholamine release to a toxin fraction (FTX) from the funnel-web spider poison, which is known to block P-type channels in mammalian neurons. FTX (1:4,000 dilution, with respect to the original fraction) inhibited K(+)-depolarization-induced Ca2+ influx by 50%, as monitored with fura-2, whereas nitrendipine (0.1-1 microM) and FTX (3:3), a synthetic FTX analogue (1 mM), blocked the [Ca2+]i transients by 35 and 30%, respectively. When tested together, FTX and nitrendipine reduced the [Ca2+]i transients by 70%. FTX or nitrendipine reduced adrenaline and noradrenaline release by approximately 80 and 70%, respectively, but both substances together abolished the K(+)-evoked catecholamine release, as measured by HPLC. The omega-conotoxin GVIA (0.5 microM) was without effect on K(+)-stimulated 45Ca2+ uptake. Our results indicate that FTX blocks dihydropyridine- and omega-conotoxin-insensitive Ca2+ channels that, together with L-type voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels, are coupled to catecholamine release.