title: Short-term oral administration of L-arginine reverses defective endothelium-dependent relaxation and cGMP generation in diabetes.
abstract: In the present study, we evaluated whether acute dietary supplementation with L-arginine in vivo could reverse the defective endothelium-dependent relaxation in diabetic blood vessels assessed ex vivo. At 8 weeks of diabetes, streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were given 1.25% L-arginine in drinking water 3 days prior to isolation of aortic rings for evaluation ex vivo. Plasma arginine concentration was reduced by diabetes but restored to normal in diabetic rats receiving dietary L-arginine. In norepinephrine-contracted rings, relaxation to acetylcholine but not to nitroglycerin was reduced by diabetes. Dietary treatment with L-arginine restored relaxation to acetylcholine without altering relaxation to nitroglycerin and restored the defect in acetylcholine-stimulated cGMP generation. These data suggest that the substrate for nitric oxide synthesis by the endothelium is likely to be limited in diabetes but can be overcome by dietary supplementation with L-arginine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Transplant Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, Milwaukee WI 53226, USA.
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Pieper
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Siebeneich
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Dondlinger
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000187:drug effects; D001120:Arginine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000502:physiology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D009126:Muscle Relaxation / Q000187:drug effects; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D001786:Blood Glucose; D001120:Arginine; D006152:Cyclic GMP; D000109:Acetylcholine